Sri Lanka Surges Back: 7 Reasons Tourists, Investors & Foodies Are Flocking in 2025

Colombo—Sri Lanka is reeling after Cyclone Ditwah tore across the Indian Ocean island on Monday, unleashing the worst flooding and landslides the nation has seen in decades. Government officials confirmed at least 355 deaths by nightfall, with hundreds more missing as swollen rivers burst their banks and hillsides collapsed. The Disaster Management Centre reported that more than 1.2 million residents across 18 districts—from the capital Colombo to the tea-growing highlands of Nuwara Eliya—have been displaced or are stranded in inundated homes. Emergency crews, assisted by the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force, raced against worsening weather to ferry families to higher ground while helicopters air-dropped food, medicine and bottled water to marooned villages. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena declared the catastrophe “the largest natural disaster in our modern history,” urging international partners for rapid assistance. India, Japan and the United States responded within hours, dispatching helicopters, inflatable boats and mobile field hospitals. Neighboring Indonesia, itself hit by the same regional storm system, pledged engineering battalions to help rebuild roads and bridges washed away by floodwaters. Meteorologists blame Cyclone Ditwah’s unusual intensity on record-warm sea-surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal, which allowed the storm to maintain hurricane-force winds even after making landfall on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast near Trincomalee. The system dumped up to 600 millimeters of rain in 24 hours—more than Colombo normally receives in three months—sending the Kelani, Mahaweli and Kalu rivers over critical flood stage. Health authorities warn of a looming public-health emergency. Stagnant pools have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit dengue and malaria, while damaged sewage lines threaten outbreaks of cholera and leptospirosis. The Ministry of Health has issued a nationwide alert advising residents to boil drinking water, use chlorine tablets where available and seek immediate treatment for fever or gastrointestinal symptoms. Economic costs are expected to soar. The Central Bank estimates initial damage to infrastructure, agriculture and housing at 2.8 billion USD, a severe blow to an economy already struggling with foreign-exchange shortages. Tea estates in the central highlands report landslides that wiped out entire slopes of export-quality crops, while coastal fisheries face weeks of downtime as debris chokes harbors. SriLankan Airlines temporarily suspended flights at Bandaranaike International Airport after floodwater reached portions of the runway; limited service resumed late Monday evening. Climate-risk analysts say Cyclone Ditwah underscores Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to extreme weather linked to climate change. A 2024 World Bank study ranked the island among the top ten nations most at risk from hydrometeorological disasters. Environmental groups are pressing the government to accelerate long-delayed investments in urban drainage, reforestation of hill country catchments and early-warning siren systems for landslide-prone districts. For now, the priority remains search, rescue and relief. Shelters in temples, schools and community centers are filling quickly, many lacking sufficient mattresses and sanitation facilities. Humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross and World Vision have launched emergency appeals for clean water, non-perishable food and temporary shelter materials. Residents like 42-year-old shopkeeper Anushka Perera in Gampaha recount terrifying hours as floodwaters rose past window level. “We climbed to the roof with our two children and waved a white cloth until the navy boat came,” he said, clutching a plastic bag containing the family’s documents. “Everything else is gone, but we are alive.” As night falls and rains continue intermittently, officials warn that rivers remain dangerously high. People living within 500 meters of major waterways have been advised to evacuate immediately, while those in the central hills are urged to watch for fresh cracks in soil that may herald new landslides. With rescue teams pushing deeper into isolated terrain, Sri Lanka faces a critical 48 hours that will shape both the human toll and the nation’s path to recovery.