Cyclone Ditwah Survivors Return to Destroyed Homes

After floods devastated her village, Indrani Ravichandran is back home. She lives in the only section still standing. Her family shares this small space with her.

Living in the Only Standing Section

They are among the many victims of Cyclone Ditwah. The storm ravaged Sri Lanka last November. The scale of the destruction was unprecedented.

Three Days of Disaster

Over just three days, parts of the central uplands saw up to 500mm of rain. That is roughly two months of average rainfall. The result was catastrophic floods and landslides.The floods swept away homes, businesses, and entire settlements. The human cost was devastating. 643 people were killed. Another 173 people went missing.

Running for Their Lives

Indrani describes the night of terror. She and her family ran for their lives in the dark. Raging flood waters swept away parts of her home. Her village is Kudugalhena in Kandy district.“The water level rose swiftly,” she says. “We rushed out and hardly had any time to pick up anything. It was pitch dark. The rain was lashing down. The slopes were slippery. We were also terrified of treading on poisonous animals. But we were lucky to survive.”