Sri Lanka: Cyclone Ditwah - Situation Report 3 (23 December 2025)

This report is produced by the Office of the Resident Coordinator in collaboration with humanitarian partners and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. It covers the period from 19 December to 23 December 2025. The next report will be issued on 30 December 2025.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on the East coast of Sri Lanka on 28th November, causing widespread floods and landslides across all 25 districts in the country. At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Humanitarian Country Team launched the Humanitarian Priorities Plan on 11 December 2025, seeking $35.3 million to support 658,000 of the most vulnerable people.

As of 17th December, 643 casualties were recorded, 183 people remain missing, 107,283 houses damaged partially or fully throughout the country. It has been 3 weeks since the Cyclone Ditwah made its landfall in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, landslides, floods and road closure have still occurred from 19 to 23 December 2025 in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Polonnaruwa districts due to rainfalls.

Damage to houses remain a key driver for the humanitarian response. Displaced individuals have been accommodated by relatives or are staying in safety centers such as schools, religious sites, and community centres. Colombo’s dense population, limited evacuation space, and pre-existing drainage vulnerabilities have also heightened pressure on short-term shelters.2 The government plans to close safety centers in some districts and allocate instead monthly compensation for a family whose house has been damaged. Those displaced will be requested to move into a rented house in the coming two weeks.

Safety centers continue to face significant protection challenges such as privacy, lighting and space segregation which increases protection and gender-based violence risk particularly for women, girls and adolescent boys. In addition, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are not adequate. Some children cannot continue education because their schools have been converted into safety centers. In response the government has taken steps to attach students from fully damaged schools to nearby functioning schools, and temporary learning spaces may be required in some locations. The number of temporary learning spaces remains unclear, as damage assessments are ongoing.

In addition, new mapping indicates that around 58,340 hectares of paddy lands in Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts were affected by floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, based on Department of Agriculture data and satellite-derived flood extents. Significant impacts were also recorded on vegetables and other field crops across major agricultural districts. These flood impacts threaten livelihoods, food production, and household food security, particularly for smallholder farmers. Urgent actions are required, including emergency seed distribution (paddy, vegetables, maize), replacement of tools and pumps, cash-for-work for debris clearance, flood-tolerant varieties, and provision of remedial fertilizer to help safeguard the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers.