ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has suffered direct physical damage of 4.1 billion US dollars from Cyclone Ditwah, or about 4 percent of gross domestic product, a World Bank study has estimated.
Damages in the Kandy district was estimated at 689 million dollars, primarily caused by flooding and to a lesser extent by landslides.
Infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railways and water supply networks, accounted for estimated 1.735 billion (42 percent of total damages), disrupting connectivity and access to markets and services.
Losses to residential buildings and contents have been estimated 985 million dollars.
The widespread impacts on homes highlight the need to consider building locations, flood control structures and designs that are resilient to high winds and flooding.
Agriculture suffered an estimated 814 million dollars in damage, including to paddy and vegetable crops, subsistence farming, maize, livestock and agriculture infrastructure.
There was also damage to inland fishing, posing serious risks to food security and rural livelihoods in already vulnerable communities.
“As we look closely at the hardest-hit districts, we see that deep-rooted vulnerabilities have left communities especially vulnerable, Gevorg Sargsyan, World Bank Group Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives said in a statement.
“In Badulla, Kegalle and Puttalam many households were already poor and now face some of the highest losses to homes.
“In Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, about two in four households are headed by women or older persons.
“Thousands of women and girls have been displaced or remain in unsafe homes. These realities underscore the need for tailored community-centered recovery efforts that protect those most at risk.”
The Cyclone Disaster comes as the people were barely recovering from the poverty caused by a currency collapse in 2022 from flexible inflation targeting/potential output targeting, on top of currency collapses in 2015 and 2018.
The World Bank has used its Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology, providing rapid, remote, post-disaster damage assessment completed within about two weeks of an event.
It estimates direct physical damage to buildings, infrastructure, and other assets, providing timely evidence to support emergency response, recovery planning, and financing decisions.
Key findings are outlined below:
US$4.1 billion in direct physical damage—equivalent to about 4 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP
• All 25 districts impacted by flooding and extreme rainfall
• Kandy District hardest hit, accounting for about 689 million dollars in damages. Puttalam 486 million dollars and Badulla 379 million dollars.
o Together, these three districts make up nearly 40 percent of damages to districts.
• Damaged roads, railways, and power infrastructure hinder response and restoration, especially where landslides occurred in central areas.
• Agriculture damage may increase rural poverty and food insecurity.
• Total economic impact is expected to be higher once indirect losses and reconstruction costs are included.
• Districts of Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Kegalle, and Puttalam face some of the highest housing losses, coinciding with higher rates of multidimensional poverty, suggesting long recovery challenges for affected households.
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