Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka in late November, has caused an estimated US$4.1 billion in direct physical damage to buildings, agriculture and critical infrastructure, according to a World Bank Group Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) report released yesterday.
The damage is equivalent to around 4 per cent of Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product.
One of the most intense and destructive cyclones in Sri Lanka’s recent history, Ditwah affected nearly 2 million people and about 500,000 families across all 25 districts, severely disrupting livelihoods, essential services and the wider economy.
The Sri Lanka GRADE report provides timely insights to support emergency response efforts, recovery planning and longer-term disaster risk reduction. The assessment uses the World Bank’s rapid, remote, model-based GRADE methodology, which estimates direct economic damage to physical assets, but does not include income or production losses, nor the full cost of recovery and reconstruction.
The estimated US$4.1 billion in direct damage represents a major shock to affected regions. The Central Province was the hardest hit, with damages in Kandy district alone estimated at US$689 million, largely due to flooding and, to a lesser extent, landslides.
Infrastructure suffered the greatest losses, with damage to roads, bridges, railways and water supply systems estimated at US$1.735 billion, accounting for 42 per cent of total damage and severely disrupting connectivity and access to markets and services.
Residential buildings and household contents were also badly affected, with damages estimated at US$985 million. The scale of damage to homes highlights the need for resilient building designs, improved land-use planning and stronger flood control measures.
Agriculture sustained an estimated US$814 million in damage, affecting paddy and vegetable crops, subsistence farming, maize, livestock, agricultural infrastructure and inland fishing, posing serious risks to food security and rural livelihoods in vulnerable communities.
Non-residential buildings, including schools, health facilities, businesses and large industrial facilities located near rivers and waterways, accounted for an estimated US$562 million in damage, disrupting education, healthcare services and local economic activity in cyclone-affected areas.
The assessment also notes that pre-existing socio-economic vulnerabilities such as poverty, limited access to services and high exposure to climate risks are likely to worsen the cyclone’s impacts and slow recovery, particularly for women, children, older persons and female-headed households. Targeted recovery efforts will be critical to support the most at-risk communities.
World Bank Group Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Gevorg Sargsyan, said deeply rooted vulnerabilities have left some communities especially exposed. He noted that districts such as Badulla, Kegalle and Puttalam had high levels of poverty even before the cyclone, while in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya a significant proportion of households are headed by women or older persons, increasing their vulnerability to displacement and housing damage.
In response to the disaster, the World Bank Group has mobilised up to US$120 million from ongoing projects to support recovery and restore essential services and infrastructure, including healthcare, water supply, education, agriculture and transport connectivity in the hardest-hit areas.
While the GRADE report provides a rapid estimate of direct physical damage, the World Bank noted that overall recovery and reconstruction needs are expected to be significantly higher. The report stresses the importance of comprehensive recovery strategies that address humanitarian needs, restore livelihoods, strengthen resilient infrastructure and integrate climate and disaster risk considerations into future development.
The World Bank also acknowledged the Government of Sri Lanka’s leadership in completing the assessment, which was carried out in close collaboration with the External Resources Department, the Treasury, the National Planning Department and the Disaster Management Centre.
