Institutional Failures Exacerbated Impact Of Cyclone Ditwah

Don’t blame Ditwah—blame our environmental sins • Sri Lanka Brief

Ameen Izzadeen. It goes without saying that Sri Lanka is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. In recent decades, the country has been regularly lashed by extreme weather conditions in the form of either prolonged droughts or relentless rains. Nearly 1,000 people have been killed or remain unaccounted for in the last week’s weather violence, due to the direct impact of Cyclone Ditwah, named after a picturesque lagoon in war‑rav…

Institutional Failures Exacerbated Impact Of Cyclone Ditwah

By Raj Sivanathan – Raj Sivanathan Sri Lanka is once again grappling with the devastating consequences of a natural disaster that, despite weeks of scientific forecasts, struck a nation structurally unprepared to withstand it. Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in late November 2025, has become the country’s most destructive calamity since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. With fatalities surpassing 400, thousands still missing and more than one mil…

Institutional Failures Exacerbated Impact of Cyclone Ditwah - Groundviews

Photo courtesy of Thilina Kaluthotage Sri Lanka is once again grappling with the devastating consequences of a natural disaster that, despite weeks of scientific forecasts, struck a nation structurally unprepared to withstand it. Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in late November 2025, has become the country’s most destructive calamity since the 2004 tsunami. With fatalities