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CRISIS IMPACT OVERVIEW
Heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides have affected districts across Sri Lanka since mid-May 2024. Rain and storms intensified from 1 June, with the most significant effects in the south and west of the country (ECHO 06/06/2024, 11/06/2024, and 30/05/2024; Save the Children 03/06/2024; DMC 09/06/2024). According to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC), from 1–11 June alone, around 118,000 people were affected, including 23 killed, seven injured, and one missing. The most affected areas were in Ratnapura district in Sabaragamuwa province (nearly 60,000 affected); Kalutara district in Western province (nearly 32,000 affected); and Matara district in Southern province (nearly 21,700 affected) (DMC 11/06/2024).
Reporting on a longer period from 15 May to 11 June, and covering a wider array of districts (including in Eastern province), the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) reported over 235,000 people affected by the flooding, including 37 dead, nearly 50 injured, and three missing, with the worst effects in Colombo district in Western province (nearly 75,000 affected); Ratnapura district in Sabaragamuwa province (nearly 65,000 affected); Kalutara district in Western province (nearly 42,000 affected), and Gampaha district in Western province (nearly 27,000 affected) (Govt. Sri Lanka 11/06/2024).
The numbers of affected people, casualties, and breakdown by district reported by both the DMC and NDRSC differ significantly between daily updates, likely because of evolving access to affected communities and delayed reporting from some districts and provinces.
The DMC reported around 80 houses destroyed and around 6,350 partially damaged between 1–10 June (DMC 11/06/2024). The floods also damaged agricultural land, threatening livelihoods (UNOSAT 04/06/2024 and 05/06/2024). Priority needs include shelter, WASH, health, food security, and livelihood support.