• Sri Lankans battered and bruised by Cyclone Ditwah try to return to normalcy and move forward in 2026

It has been almost a month since Cyclone Ditwah bruised Sri Lanka. The heavy rains have ceased, flood water levels have receded, and those displaced by the disaster cling to hope, some while living in temporary shelters. In the seeming calm, the nation slowly awakens to a new year around the corner. The whole country appears to be coming back to life gradually.

According to Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reports, 66,132 people are still residing in 723 safety centres across the country. The Housing Ministry is planning on housing schemes for the displaced, which it says will take at least two years to build. Amidst all of this, people celebrate Christmas in relief camps.

First Cross Street in Pettah, Colombo, where you could find a star or an ornament for your Christmas tree or the wrapping for your gifts, was crowded with people shopping for Christmas. In supermarkets, long queues formed as families shopped together for groceries for their Christmas feast. 

In a display of resilience in times of crisis, Sri Lankans once again embraced Christmas and the coming new year with warmth in their hearts.

‘Outsiders are major buyers’

On the bridge next to the Colombo Fort, which connects the two sides of the Colombo-Kandy road, a vendor of phone accessories shared her thoughts with The Sunday Morning. 

Rigie Renuka, a 57-year-old vendor and housewife, has been working at this location for 16 years. One can see the skyline of Colombo from the bridge, and she has also witnessed customers’ patterns of behaviour in the face of disasters for more than a decade. She described how Ditwah differed from other disasters she had witnessed so far.

“I came here to start this business in 2009. Sales these days are very low because of the recent disaster. Landslides and flooding have happened all over the country. It is not people living right here in Colombo but those who come into the city from outside who buy from us. Since people get off trains and buses and walk through this place to get to the other side, our businesses thrive.” 

According to her, it is not only the general decline in crowds following Ditwah, but also the marked reduction in customers from outside Colombo that has affected their sales the most.

“People are travelling less due to the floods and landslides, and the growth of our businesses has slowed too. This is the festive season. If this were another year, we wouldn’t be able to engage with you like this since we are always surrounded by customers. Yet we are experiencing a regular business day where we have to be satisfied with a few customers, even though this is the festive season.”

In Pettah, it is a common scene these days to see housewives buying groceries, wandering through the streets as they prepare for the new year. One of these housewives, who did not wish to share her name, offered a comment.

“Vegetables are too pricey; 250 g of long beans costs Rs. 160. We don’t buy vegetables from large shops or supermarkets; we buy them from retail shops instead, together with other goods. We can feel the difference in prices.” 

She acknowledged the challenge faced by the Government, noting: “It is a huge challenge to come to everyone’s aid. A lot of money has been allocated for cleaning houses and for relocation. The Government will not be able to provide it all at once, but I think it will provide all the promised aid sooner than later.”

“We can remember what happened during the previous Government. It was not the people who were really affected who received aid. But we hope nothing like that will happen under this Government,” she added.

The lure of chance and luck

Few locations are more appropriate than a lottery counter to determine how hopeful or desperate people are about their future. Amidst the people squeezing through the crowded streets shopping for the new year, many have not forgotten to buy a lottery ticket, as The Sunday Morning was informed by K. Nihal, a 60-year-old lottery ticket seller.

“My daily income is around Rs. 1,000. But there are days that I have to go without even Rs. 500, as people don’t buy tickets very often. Yet these days, tickets are usually sold out early.” Since the streets are crowded with people, he can finish his work early and return home. Despite economic hardships, he noted that he had hopes for a better future.

Inside a little factory-like boutique in Pettah, The Sunday Morning had a chance encounter with a well-known actor – Lakshman Mendis, who runs a business supplying wrappers and gift bags for festive occasions. When asked whether the paper industry had been affected by taxes, he said that the papers were locally manufactured. We were then ushered by him to see how these wrapping papers were made from old paper and flower petals.

Mendis shared his observations on customer behaviour as a person who had encountered it for decades. “I have been doing this business for at least 25 years. There is no clear decline in people’s enthusiasm in preparing for Christmas. In relation to last year, we have the same amount of sales. 

“You can’t even go out leisurely because the crowd outside is even larger than last year. When there is news that it will begin raining again, the crowd recedes for a while, yet the situation is the same the next day. On Fridays, the crowds decline again as the area consists mostly of Muslim vendors, and people realise that since they attend the mosque, there is no use in coming here.”

According to Mendis, the disaster has not reduced the public’s enthusiasm for Christmas and New Year at all.

Expenses and sacrifices

Sharing her thoughts, Savini Kavindya (23), a third-year student from the University of Kelaniya, explained how she was managing her finances. 

Kavindya, who is pursuing a general degree and a diploma at a private university simultaneously, described how the cost of everything had risen, forcing her to take on part-time work.

“Since we have hostel facilities, we don’t have to pay rent. And since I cook, I can usually manage my expenses for a month with around Rs. 15,000. 

“Now everything has gone up in price; I can feel it. I am doing part-time jobs occasionally to cover my expenses as well, but this decreases the time I can engage in my studies. I will be graduating next year, and then I can get a job and earn. So I have positive hopes and plans for the new year.”

The Sunday Morning also met a young resident from Kandy, waiting at the bus stand to leave for Colombo. As she shared her thoughts and grievances, she shared how her house had been completely destroyed by the recent landslides and how her family now lived in separate locations.

“At around 11.30 p.m., we were at home, even though we felt something was unusual. But as we sensed something bad was going to happen, we ran outside. The house was destroyed right in front of our eyes, but we were lucky to escape with our lives. I am now staying in Colombo as I have to focus on my studies, my father is staying with our aunts as he has to go to work, and my mother is living in a boarding house with my sister,” she said.

When asked for her thoughts on the Government’s plan to aid the displaced, she said: “We have been promised that we will be provided with aid. But I am not sure whether we are going to receive any. I have developed a distrust in the Government at this point.”

A lingering psychological toll

At a bus stop, Amasha Hewage, another university undergraduate, shared a different kind of story from the disaster. 

“We were not affected by the floods as we are from Galle,” she began. “When Cyclone Ditwah broke, we were trapped in our hostels and were told not to leave. Parents and siblings at home panicked and started calling every five minutes to check on us.”

She recounted a moment of sheer panic. “Even the fire alarm in the hostel complex went off once. We ran down the staircase, thinking the building was going to collapse. Even though we were later told that it was a mistake, that tension never left me.” 

For Amasha, the trauma persists. “Even after the disaster, that incident is still on my mind, and when the weather forecast announces possible rains again from time to time, I always start panicking.”

Her hopes for the future are rooted in safety and recovery. “I don’t have many plans for next year so far. I want my family, my friends, and everyone else to be okay and for the disaster situation to be resolved fully without people getting hurt any further.”

Interrupted futures

Amidst the chaos, the storm ripped through not just homes and livelihoods but the future of tens of thousands of young Sri Lankans. Among them was Kemitha (18), an A/Level Arts stream student from Monaragala, whose life was upended not by floodwaters at his doorstep, but by the sudden suspension of the most critical examination of his life.

By the time Cyclone Ditwah broke, he was getting ready for his Geography paper. The postponement of the exams left him in a state of limbo. For weeks, Kemitha and over 300,000 other A/Level candidates were left without a confirmed date for the resumption of exams, their academic futures frozen. 

“At first, we checked the news every hour, then every day,” he said. He was anxiously awaiting the Government’s assurance that question papers and answer scripts were secure. His study schedule, once a precise countdown, collapsed. “How do you revise when you don’t know if your exam is in two weeks or two months? Your mind can’t click into gear.”

The disruption extended far beyond the exam halls. Over 1,382 schools across the Central, Uva, and Sabaragamuwa Provinces were damaged by the cyclone, with 666 remaining closed even after the general resumption of the school term. For many students, the familiar environment for revision or seeking teacher guidance simply vanished.

Authorities have since announced that the A/Level exams will resume, although the dates remain to be finalised. Meanwhile, for students in Grades 6–10 in the worst-hit areas, the path forward is different but equally disorienting: the Ministry of Education has directed that third-term tests be cancelled, with students promoted without these exams. While this policy aims to reduce pressure, it adds another layer of uncertainty to an already unstable academic year.

“In January, we will have exams again. This is one of the most significant turning points of my life. I am anticipating entrance to the University of Moratuwa. I really believe that our written answers are safe and that we won’t have to sit for the exam again,” Kemitha said. 

A stalled supply chain

In the heart of Colombo’s bustling wholesale clothing district, Dean (63), a shop owner, navigates a frustrating delay that encapsulates the post-disaster economic squeeze. 

While festive crowds are present, he noted a “small reduction in sales” compared to previous years – a dip he attributed directly to sparse shelves. “The customer’s spirit is there, but my stock is not,” he quipped.

His primary issue is a supply chain caught in a perfect storm. “The containers at Customs have been stopped,” he said, detailing an administrative snarl. “They say the officers from the raids have not reported.” This procedural halt means the shipment due last week arrived only this week, pushing his entire inventory schedule back by a critical seven days. The promised stock for this week is now expected next, disrupting his ability to meet festive demand.

However, when asked if Government efficiency was causing the issue, his critique was tempered. “More than the inefficiency of the Government, it is because of the natural disasters,” he stated. 

He further explained that in two key locations, containers had been physically blocked without being able to reach their destinations due to cyclone-induced damage to infrastructure. This dual challenge – natural blockages followed by bureaucratic slowdown – had significantly affected his business.

Dean’s expectations for the new year are practical: a swift clearing of backlogs and a return to predictable logistics. “My hope is for the roads and the Customs line to move faster than the calendar,” he said.

Hope and resilience

As night falls over Colombo, the Christmas lights twinkle against a skyline that holds both promise and profound challenge. Voices from across communities tell a unified story: Sri Lankans are managing expectations, not harbouring grand illusions.

Sri Lanka has navigated the first phase of economic stabilisation, only to be compounded by natural disasters and poor mitigation and response mechanisms. However, the second phase – transforming stability into shared prosperity – is just beginning and with it comes the added challenge of rebuilding after Cyclone Ditwah. 

The success of such a process will not be measured only by stock market indices, the price of vegetables in Pettah, the job prospects for youth, and safer housing for those without, but it will also be measured by how Sri Lanka unites to move forward and how the country manages its affairs both domestically and internationally.

The hope for the new year, felt across the island, is cautious, resilient, and earned through immense struggle, as all Sri Lankans await the dawn of a better nation.