Cyclone Ditwah devastation to cost Sri Lanka up to $7 billion: official

Sri Lanka’s total economic loss from Cyclone Ditwah is estimated to be between $6 billion and 7 billion, which is roughly 3-5% of the island nation’s GDP, a senior official overseeing recovery efforts said on Wednesday, December 3. At least 465 people 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. : Cyclone Ditwah drives southern rains, cold wave alert in Delhi, Punjab and UP 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 ...