Sri Lanka declares emergency as Cyclone Ditwah kills 123; 130 still missing

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Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday issued an extraordinary gazette notification declaring a state of public emergency in Sri Lanka.

The gazette notification has been issued in the wake of the widespread destruction left by Cyclone Ditwah.

Sri Lanka has appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing, Al Jazeera reported.

The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes across the country, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said on Saturday.

Although Cyclone Ditwah was heading towards neighbouring India to the north on Saturday, more landslides have hit the central district of Kandy, 115km (70 miles) east of the capital Colombo, with the main access road under water at several locations.

DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of members of the army, navy and air force as he announced the latest casualty figures, as per Al Jazeera.

"Relief operations with the help of the armed forces are underway," Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo.

Mahesh Gunasekara, the secretary-general of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, said many people have been stranded in various flood-hit areas as rescue crews are trying to reach them.

"Relief needs have been increasing. After two days, the water had still been swelling," he said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

"Although the cyclone is slowly moving away from the country, it is not over for us yet," Gunasekara added.

Flooding prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders for those living along the banks of the Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo.

The Kelani burst its banks on Friday evening, forcing hundreds of people into temporary shelters, the DMC said, as per Al Jazeera.

The government issued an appeal for international help and asked Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to support nearly half a million affected people.

Officials said Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya had met with Colombo-based diplomats to update them on the situation and seek the help of their governments, as per Al Jazeera.

India was the first to respond, sending two planeloads of relief supplies. At the same time, an Indian warship already in Colombo on a previously planned goodwill visit donated its rations to help victims.