Attachments
Highlights
- Since the landfall of Cyclone Ditwah on 28 November 2025, displacement has significantly reduced as many families have moved back to their homes. However, many remain in safety centers and cannot return as their homes are located in high-risk areas.
- Humanitarian needs persist, including for sustained WASH services, access to SAM treatment, continuity of learning for affected children, and protection measures to prevent family separation and expand psychosocial support.
- UNICEF continued to provide life-saving assistance across sectors. 70,600 people benefited from WASH services and supplies, 109,050 children received education support, nutrition interventions reached 13,109 2,56 people, and child protection supported 89,084 individuals through case management, family reunification, and psychosocial services.
- UNICEF ordered US$1.8 million in emergency supplies, with additional supplies over US$1.6 million in the pipeline.
- UNICEF requested US$7.8 million to provide life-saving support to people affected by Cyclone Ditwah. As of 2 March, US$5.9 million was received and US$0.3 million pledged, leaving a funding gap over US$1.6 million.
Situation in Numbers
1.2 million People in Need
526,609 Children in Need
1,6823 Schools impacted
576,936 UNICEF people targeted
340,450 UNICEF children target
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on the East coast of Sri Lanka on 28 November 2025, causing widespread floods and deadly landslides across the nation. Some 680 people are reported to have died, while 154 people remain missing.4 According to the Humanitarian Priorities Plans (HPP), over 2.2 million people were affected and an estimated 1.2 million people are in need of assistance, including almost 527,000 children.
Displacement reached a peak of 308,000 people. As of 1 March 2026, more than 153,073 people remain displaced. Of these, 97 per cent are staying with host families or in rented accommodation (149,927 people across Badulla, Kandy, Kegalle, Matale, Nuwara Eliya and Trincomalee), while 3 per cent are sheltering in safety centres (3,146 people in 32 centres located in Badulla, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya). Many families are unable to return home due to extensive housing damage and the need for relocation from high‑risk areas. Economic vulnerability is further slowing the recovery of thousands of affected households.
The Government of Sri Lanka, together with partners, has continued to provide support to the affected population based on the outcome of the Joint Rapid Needs Assessments (Phases I and II) which identified preliminary impacts and quantified damages, losses and recovery needs following Cyclone Ditwah. The government finalizing the Post-Disaster needs assessment, which provides a comprehensive quantification of damages, losses and recovery needs in the Cyclone affected areas along with recommendations particularly on resettlement. The results are expected in March and will help guide future response efforts. A total of 32 safety centers continue to accommodate people whose areas have been categorized as “high risk” for return and temporally learning centers have been established to accommodate schools that have been damaged or categorized as high risk.
On 27 February, the Ministry of Defence, serving as the line ministry for the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and responsible for strengthening Sri Lanka’s national disaster response system, convened a comprehensive After Action Review (AAR) on Cyclone Ditwah. Bringing together government stakeholders and partners, the review examined the effectiveness of recent relief efforts and assessed the country’s preparedness for future emergencies. While acknowledging that the response helped reduce the cyclone’s impact, the Government also noted significant operational, structural, and institutional shortcomings within the national disaster management framework. The AAR outlined these gaps, identified systemic weaknesses, highlighted best practices for institutionalization, and proposed practical measures to enhance the country’s emergency response capacity.