Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on Sri Lanka's eastern coast on 28 November 2025, bringing sustained winds up to 65 km/h (gusts up to 90 km/h) and over 300 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. All provinces were affected, resulting in widespread flooding, landslides, and storm surges. As of 2 December 2025, 410 deaths and 336 missing persons were reported, with over 1.4 million people affected nationwide. Authorities expect casualty figures to rise as access improves.

The cyclone caused extensive damage across sectors. Agriculture was severely impacted, with preliminary estimates indicating over 600,000 acres of cropsespecially paddy and vegetablesdestroyed during the critical Maha season,1 threatening food security and household incomes for nearly 775,000 farming families. Vegetable prices have spiked by 30-200% due to supply shortages and transport disruptions. Nearly 20,000 homes were damaged, leaving thousands homeless and forcing over 64,000 families into 1,441 government-run safety centers, many of which are schools. Infrastructure was severely affected: 78 roads and 15 bridges have been damaged, 277,877 buildings inundated, and over 65,000 power outages and telecom failures are reported. Water supply has been severely disrupted, with 687 major urban water schemes damaged and approximately 47% of household connections affected; 70-80% of water supply is disrupted in some areas. Health services face heightened risks of waterborne disease outbreaks, with several hospitals flooded or evacuated. Rapid assessment indicates 1,185 schools are located within flood-affected areas, and the 2025 Advanced Level examination has been postponed indefinitely. Rescue efforts are severely hampered by widespread flooding, lack of access, and lack of connectivity.

On 28 November 2025, the President of Sri Lanka declared a State of Public Emergency throughout Sri Lanka, invoking the Public Security Ordinance (Act No. 8 of 1959), recognizing that the scale of the disasterincluding widespread flooding, landslides, infrastructure destruction, and displacementexceeds the national capacity to restore life-saving services promptly.

On 1 December 2025, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, through the Department of External Resources, formally requested urgent grant assistance from ADB under the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund (APDRF) to address the immediate needs of communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah. The request highlighted the severe nationwide impact of the disaster.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed grant will cover urgent expenses to restore life-saving services for affected populations, including but not limited to: (i) emergency rescue equipment (boats, life jackets, ropes, specialized gear for flood and landslide operations); (ii) medical supplies and kits (essential medicines, first aid, emergency health equipment); (iii) food supplies (dry rations, ready-to-eat meals for displaced persons in shelters and flood-affected areas); (iv) water and sanitation systems (purification units, portable sanitation facilities, hygiene supplies to prevent disease outbreaks); (v) transitional shelter materials (tarpaulins, tents, basic materials, excluding asbestos, cement sheets, for families with destroyed or damaged homes); (vi) hygiene kits (personal supplies for displaced families, especially women and children); (vii) debris clearance (equipment and fuel for removing landslide debris from critical roads); (viii) aviation fuel (for Air Force helicopters conducting rescue and relief airlifts); and (ix) communication equipment (satellite phones, portable generators, cells-on-wheels, charging equipment). Up to 30% of grant proceeds may be used for retroactive financing of eligible expenditures incurred prior to grant effectiveness but not earlier than 28 November 2025.

Environment: C
Involuntary Resettlement: C
Indigenous Peoples: C

The financing amount is $3,000,000, which will be financed on a grant basis by ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund.

For the Recipient:

Secreatry
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Colombo 1
Sri Lanka
cc: Deputy Secretary to the Treasury
Director General, Department of External Resources

Facsimile Number: (94-11) 244-7633

 For ADB:

Asian Development Bank
6 ADB Avenue
Mandaluyong City
1550 Metro Manila
Philippines
Facsimile Numbers: (632) 8636-2444

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