🌪️ Cyclone Ditwah: Catastrophic Floods in Sri Lanka (Late Nov–Early Dec 2025)
Cyclone Ditwah, named by Yemen, was a relatively weak cyclonic storm in terms of wind speed (max winds $\approx$ 60–65 km/h) that caused catastrophic flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka and affected parts of South India in late November and early December 2025.
Key Facts and Impact
Formation and Track: Formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal around November 24–26, 2025. It intensified, moved north along Sri Lanka's eastern coast, making landfall on November 27. After crossing Sri Lanka, it re-emerged, briefly re-intensified near the Coromandel Coast, and dissipated by December 2–3.
Sri Lanka Disaster: Despite low winds, the storm produced exceptional rainfall (up to $\approx$ 400 mm in 24 hours) over Sri Lanka's hilly terrain, causing its worst flood disaster in two decades.
Toll: Over 600 confirmed deaths, hundreds missing, over 1 million people affected, and more than 200,000 displaced. It is the country's deadliest disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
India Impact: The weakened system brought very heavy rain and flooding to coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, especially around Chennai, causing significant disruption to transport.
Cause of Large Damage: The disaster was driven by the combination of the storm's slow movement, extreme rainfall over vulnerable steep terrain in Sri Lanka, and limited capacity for evacuation and resilient infrastructure.
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