Colombo, Dec 23: Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka in November, caused an estimated US$4.1 billion (S$5.2 billion) in direct physical damage, the World Bank said in a report released on December 22, underscoring the scale of destruction from one of the country’s worst recent natural disasters.
The cyclone killed more than 640 people and affected over 10 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population, with floods and landslides leaving widespread damage across the island. According to the World Bank, the total damage is equivalent to around 4 per cent of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Damage to infrastructure accounted for the largest share of losses, estimated at US$1.735 billion, covering roads, bridges, railways and water supply networks. Housing damage was valued at US$985 million, representing 24 per cent of the total damage.
The estimates are based on the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) report and focus exclusively on direct physical damage to buildings, agriculture and critical infrastructure.
The World Bank noted that the assessment does not include losses related to income or production, nor does it capture the full costs of recovery and reconstruction, indicating that the overall economic impact of Cyclone Ditwah is likely to be significantly higher.
The findings highlight Sri Lanka’s growing vulnerability to climate-related disasters, as extreme weather events increasingly pose serious risks to lives, infrastructure and economic stability.
