CYCLONE DITWAH DEVASTATION TO COST SRI LANKA UP TO US$7 BILLION: OFFICIAL

COLOMBO, Dec 3 (Bernama-PTI) -- Sri Lanka's total economic loss from Cyclone Ditwah is estimated to be between US$6 billion and US$7 billion, which is roughly three to five per cent of the island nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), a senior official overseeing recovery efforts said on Wednesday, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

At least 465 people have died so far, and 366 remain missing as Sri Lanka grapples with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.

"Given that all 25 districts are affected, we estimate the cost would be US$6-7 billion," Commissioner General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakirthi told reporters here.

Over 1.4 million people have been affected, with more than 233,000 sheltering in 1,441 relief centres.

Chandrakirthi said new legal provisions would be required to speed up post-disaster procedures.

"For example, under current laws, death certificates can only be issued after six months. We have to bring in new laws to reduce this period,” he said.

Chandrakirthi said the government had decided to temporarily allow the import of frozen vegetables, as the main vegetable-growing areas in the central hilly districts have been devastated by landslides and floods.

Kandy reported the highest number of deaths at 118, followed by Nuwara Eliya with 89 and Badulla with 83, all in the central hill country.

Chandrakirthi said the house-cleaning allowance for affected families has been increased from LKR 10,000 (US$32.40) to LKR 25,000 (US$81.02) and will be disbursed without ownership verification.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, as of Tuesday, 783 homes have been destroyed and 31,417 partially damaged.

Telecommunications authorities said all disrupted services are expected to be restored by Thursday.

Over 4,000 communication towers went offline due to floods and landslides, of which about 2,800 of them have already been restored.

-- BERNAMA-PTI