Dec 8 (TM) About 40% of the CEB infrastructure has been damaged in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, CEB Deputy General Manager Noel Priyantha said. Of the 3.9 million consumers who had initially lost power during the severe weather, electricity supply had now been restored to approximately 3.5 million (86%) as of Friday (5). Distribution network suffered the worst impact, with transformers bearing brunt of the damage. more..

Dec 8 (CT) Delays in inspecting buildings that were fully and partially damaged by the disaster have created growing uncertainty over compensation payments and resettlement, as the NBRO reportedly lacked a sufficient number of officers to carry out inspections and had yet to formally enlist external expert assistance. Although 12 lecturers from the Department of Geology at the University of Peradeniya had expressed their willingness to assist with inspections in the Kandy District, more..

Dec 8 (FT) A joint program by the Finance Ministry and the banking sector to provide loan facilities for new entrepreneurs is scheduled for launch in January next year, Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil Handunneththi told Parliament’s Ministerial Consultative Committee recently. The Minister said Rs. 80 billion allocated in the Budget 2026 for entrepreneurial lending will be channelled through this program to ensure more effective and targeted distribution of funds. more..

Dec 8 (FT) Colombo welcomed a new chapter in its urban landscape on 3 December as Unity Plaza revealed SL’s largest outdoor LED digital screen, drawing a distinguished audience that included the Board of Directors and the Management of On’ally Holdings, over 250 invitees, representatives from its international business partner and members of the media. The unveiling signals the completion of Unity Plaza’s ambitious redevelopment journey that began with its relaunch in Nov 2023. more..

Dec 8 (FT) Serendib Flour Mills Ltd, has been recognised with a Merit Award under the Medium-Scale Manufacturing Organisations category at the SL National Quality Awards (SLNQA) 2023, presented by the SL Standards Institution (SLSI), held in November. Serendib Flour Mills’ achievement at SLNQA 2023 reinforces the position of a trusted and progressive player in Sri Lanka’s food manufacturing industry, highlighting the dedication to aligning with international best practices. more..

Dec 8 (FT) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) as the regulator has directed all licenced banks to implement a series of relief measures for individuals and businesses whose income or operations were directly affected by the recent cyclonic-related natural disasters. The directive, issued through Circular No. 04 of 2025 on 5 Dec, follows proposals submitted by the SL Banks’ Association and aims to support borrowers more..

Dec 8 (Island) Further to my earlier letter titled, Psychology of Greed and Philosophy for a New World Order (The Island 26.11.2025) it may not be far-fetched to say that the cause of the devastating cyclones that hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia last week could be traced back to human greed. Cyclones of this magnitude are said to be unusual in the equatorial region but, according to experts, the raised sea surface temperatures created the conditions for their occurrence. more..

Dec 8 (CT) At a time when SL and a few countries in Southeast Asia are struggling to recover from a post-cyclonic devastation it is worth spending some thoughts on an issue that lies fundamental to understand why natural disasters have become so frequent in this age of scientific and technological domination over human life. Perhaps because of the increasing frequency of cyclones and other natural disasters that meteorologists and climatologists had started naming these events to differentiate more..

Dec 8 (Island) The number of deaths due to the recent weather disasters reached 627 yesterday. The Opposition has blamed the gov’s poor disaster response for the high death toll. SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa has fired another salvo at the govt, accusing it of trying to scapegoat the Meteorological Department officials for its failure to take swift action to save lives despite repeated warnings of the impending disaster. He has said the Met Dept personnel began issuing warnings of more..

Dec 8 (GV) Why was Sri Lanka unprepared for Cyclone Ditwah? This question haunts every survivor, every family member who lost a loved one, every rescue worker who arrived too late. The uncomfortable truth emerging from post-disaster analyses is clear: while the storm itself was tracked and forecasted, Sri Lanka’s warning and response systems failed catastrophically, contributing to a death toll exceeding 470 people and leaving over 1.4 million affected. This was not an act of God more..

Dec 8 (CT) SL’s transport arteries lie fractured after the devastation of Cyclone Ditwah, exposing not only the scale of physical destruction but also long-standing structural weaknesses in disaster preparedness, infrastructure maintenance, and crisis governance. With only 30% of the country’s railway network currently operational, and highway damages now estimated at a staggering Rs 190 billion, the cyclone has delivered one of the harshest more..

Dec 8 (CT) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) would remember his 58th birthday on Nov 24 for long as the disastrous cyclone Ditwah struck a few days later. Before the cyclone struck, heavy rains in coastal cities and northern highlands flooded the infrastructure and caused landslides. Road and rail communication have been disrupted due to flooding. The inclement weather also resulted in cancel of flights. As the month ended, the cyclone seems to dissipate its energy while more..

Dec 8 (DM) When Cyclone Ditwah swept across SL in late November 2025, the force of nature felt almost unreal. Hundreds of people died, thousands remain unaccounted for, and more than 147,000 were pushed from the places they once called home. Beneath this stark physical destruction, another emergency has unfolded more quietly, and it may take much longer to heal- the toll on older adults. To SL’s elderly, the immediate danger of floods and landslides is just the first blow. more..

Dec 8 (TM) The day Cyclone Ditwah made landfall in Sri Lanka, it extracted a toll that is still unfolding, with numbers of missing and dead continuing to climb with each official accounting. As floodwaters slowly recede and SL assesses the damage caused in the aftermath of the destructive path of the cyclone, it has left behind a nation struggling to wrest some control in the midst of chaos, with questions of State accountability, more..

Dec 8 (CT) SL’s mountains, forests, and rivers are part of a natural heritage that has shaped our civilisation, our culture, and our spirituality for centuries. Yet these landscapes are now being consumed at a pace faster than at any moment in our modern history. The recent outcry over illegal constructions in environmentally fragile zones—from Ambuluwawa to Sri Pada—has once again exposed the deep fractures across our governance system. It is a crisis not merely of policy but of more..

Dec 8 (ST) Amid accusations by sections of the opposition that the disaster brought on by Cyclone Ditwah had rendered it irrelevant in its current form, Budget 2026 was passed in Parliament by a majority of 157 votes on Friday. Many in the opposition ranks were absent when the Third Reading came up for a vote around 7.30pm. Aside from those from the NPP govt, opposition MPs Jeevan Thondaman from the UNP and K. Kader Masthan from the SL Labour Party voted in support of Budget 2026. more..

Dec 7 (ST) When Prez Anura Dissanayake convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening, there were two matters he said those in govt should focus on urgently. One was getting aid across to those worst affected by Cyclone Ditwah, and the other was countering opposition allegations that the govt had ignored warnings of the incoming natural disaster, thus leading to the heavy loss of lives. more..

Dec 7 (AD) The death toll due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in the country over the past few days has climbed to 618 as at 8 p.m. today (6), according to the DMC. It confirmed that another 209 individuals remain missing as search operations continue. Extreme weather has impacted all 25 districts of the island, affecting a total of 2,078,436 people from 583,030 families. The districts of Gampaha (362,664), Puttalam (347,211) & Colombo (328,846) are the worst affected. more..

Dec 7 (EN) Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority has re-opened all major roads after Cyclone Ditwah, and the Kandy – Colombo road is open in the daytime from Dec 5, Director General Wimal Kandamby said. Cyclone Ditwah had blocked 256 major roads in 298 places and 40 bridges were damaged. Some roads were impassable due to flood inundation, but there were also rock falls, trees falling and landslides, he said. By December 05, 252 locations had been cleared, Kandamby said. more..

Dec 7 (ST) The govt is to set up a statutory body to handle a special fund, starting with a Rs 500 billion supplementary estimate to be passed in Parliament next month to undertake a rebuilding plan after cyclone Ditwah left more than 600 dead, 213 missing and over 75,000 houses fully or partially damaged. The govt will pass a new law setting up the statutory body to oversee rebuilding of infrastructure, housing construction, more..

Dec 7 (ST) From January 1 next year, public sector employees will no longer be granted no-pay leave to work elsewhere, as was allowed under a 2022 Cabinet decision, according to a new circular. Public Administration Ministry Secretary Aloka Bandara said the Cabinet has approved a proposal to cancel the five-year leave option, which was used by many to seek alternate employment either locally or overseas. A circular ending the special leave was issued this week. more..

Dec 7 (Island) World Health Organization (WHO) SL has issued fresh public health guidance on the safe handling of dead animals in the aftermath of widespread flooding, warning that carcasses pose significant health risks. According to the advisory, animals may die from drowning, disease or injury during disasters, and improper handling of their remains can contaminate food and water sources and trigger outbreaks. WHO has urged the public not to touch, collect or consume dead fish more..

Dec 7 (NW) A ship carrying emergency relief from the Govt of Tamil Nadu is en route to Sri Lanka to assist communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah and the subsequent floods and landslides. The vessel, loaded with 950 metric tons of essential supplies, left the Port of Tuticorin today carrying food items and clothing meant for distribution to disaster-hit families across Sri Lanka. The aid shipment has been dispatched under the direction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. more..

Dec 7 (TM) Amid the devastating floods that have swept across SL, the Ministry of Trade, Commerce & Food Security has assured that there is currently no critical shortage of essential goods in the country. According to the DMC’s Rapid Needs Assessment as of Tuesday, approximately 1.5 million people reside in districts classified as having moderate to high food insecurity risk. Floods have caused severe crop losses, disrupted inland fisheries and shrimp farming, and damaged fishing vessels more..

Dec 7 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that a unified operational mechanism, which goes beyond the normal state administration, is required to restore public life after a disaster. Prez stated this while participating in the Kandy District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the Kandy District Secretariat this morning (06). During the meeting, the President separately reviewed the progress of rapid programmes more..

Dec 7 (EN) SL’s foreign reserves dropped to US$ 6,083 million by end Nov 2025, dropping 256 million over a year, amid rate cuts and attempts to related the nation. Reserves dropped US$ 133 million over the month. SL has not been able build reserves on a gross basis since Oct 2024, a few weeks after inflationary open market operations were aggressively deployed against monetary stability, printing around 100 billion rupees in what critics say was creditable imitation of a floor system more..

Dec 7 (SO) A new bridge will replace the damaged Peradeniya railway bridge, said Railways General Manager. 158-year-old railway bridge spanning over 300 metres across the Mahaweli river suffered extensive damage due to the Ditwah Cyclone. “We will assess the condition of the bridge in a more scientific manner in collaboration with the Uni of Peradeniya and the CECB following the cleaning up of the debris under the bridge. Till the clean-up is complete, we cannot start the assessment,” more..

Dec 7 (TM) National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) recommended that Ministry of Health ask donors to obtain prior approval before donating pharmaceutical supplies, in order to avoid wastage of donated items that are either not needed or already available within the country. NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said that supplies from Bangladesh and Myanmar had been received by the authority and that they were in the process of being assessed for necessity more..

Dec 7 (SO) A top official of the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) said that early landslide warnings had helped hundreds of people to save their lives during the severe weather triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. The official said timely alerts issued via the DMC and Divisional Secretariats prompted many families in high-risk zones to leave their homes before the slopes collapsed. The NBRO had issued Level 1 (Yellow), Level 2 (Amber) and Level 3 (Red) alerts from Nov 17, more..

Dec 7 (SO) As the country continues clearing the debris and re-opening roads, thousands of children remain in limbo — waiting for school to reopen, waiting eagerly for their homes to be rebuilt, and in some heartbreaking cases, waiting with bated breath for their parents who may never return. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj said 275,000 children have been displaced by the landslides and floods unleashed by cyclone Ditwah, more..

Dec 7 (DM) In the wake of the natural disaster that took place in Sri Lanka last week, the tea industry was hit hard and may take months to recover to normal as machinery that has been destroyed has to be sent abroad to repair and damage to roads may affect the distribution of tea exports, according to an official from the Colombo Tea Traders Association. Lushantha De Silva, Chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders Association said that ‘There are 30 companies that export tea, more..

Dec 7 (DM) The govt is under fire for its alleged failure to mitigate and manage the impact of Cyclone Ditwah, despite prior warnings from relevant agencies. By Nov 25, the Dept of Meteorology and the Irrigation Department had given prior notice in this regard. Still, the govt has allegedly failed in taking pre-emptive action. The Dept of Meteorology is under the Ministry of Defence, whereas the Disaster Management Centre falls under the purview of Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake. more..