By Visvalingam Muralithas –

Visvalingam Muralithas

December traditionally marks Sri Lanka’s peak tourism season, driven largely by holiday travel from Europe and other regions that observe long Christmas and New Year vacations. Airlines and Sri Lanka–bound flights are typically fully booked during this period, with airfare prices rising sharply due to high demand. This seasonal boom is a vital source of foreign exchange. In 2023, tourism generated USD 2.659 billion; in 2024, earnings increased to USD 3.17 billion; and in the first ten months of 2025, Sri Lanka recorded USD 2.659 billion in tourism revenue. Estate sector or hill country also effected seriously in the estate sector and infrastructures    It  will effect tea and other agricultural exports revenue in Sri Lanka. According to the data, total tea export revenue in   2024 and 2025 January to October were 1.43 billion USD, and 1.29 Billion USD.

However, the Ditwah disaster has struck at the worst possible moment. The destruction across multiple districts has severely dampened tourist arrivals, threatening immediate revenue losses and long-term reputational damage. Just as Sri Lanka began rebuilding after the 2022 economic collapse, the new disaster risks reversing the fragile recovery of the external sector and foreign reserves.

Sri Lanka’s recent history is defined by a relentless sequence of crises — from the 1959 cyclone and the 2004 tsunami to the Easter Sunday attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022 economic collapse. Each of these shocks eroded institutional resilience, strained the national economy, and exposed long-standing structural weaknesses. The Ditwah disaster, affecting Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, the central highlands, the Vanni region, the Eastern Province and several other areas, has now struck at a particularly fragile moment when the country is striving for macroeconomic stability. This unfolding humanitarian and development challenge underscores the urgent need for a long-term, multi-sectoral national resilience strategy.

Economic Impact

The disaster has inflicted severe damage on the agricultural sector, particularly the upcountry—Sri Lanka’s primary supplier of vegetables such as carrots, leeks, beans, potatoes, and leafy greens. Entire cultivation areas have been destroyed. The poultry sector has suffered significant losses, reducing the supply of chicken and eggs, while the dairy industry faces disruptions in milk collection and distribution.

Damage to major irrigation systems, including the Mavilaru and Kaddukkarai tank networks, will have long-term repercussions for food production. Paddy-producing regions in the Vanni districts and Eastern Province have been inundated, reducing the national paddy supply and increasing the likelihood of higher-priced rice imports. This will further strain foreign reserves at a time of acute external vulnerability.

The Ditwah disaster has caused a severe breakdown in Sri Lanka’s supply chain and transport infrastructure. Road networks connecting the central highlands to Colombo and other economic hubs have been heavily damaged by landslides, while railway lines—some over a century old—have been submerged, twisted, or destroyed. The railway system, a vital artery for upcountry vegetable transportation, the highland tea industry, estate labour mobility, and daily commuter travel, has effectively shut down, disrupting trade flows nationwide. This paralysis has intensified market volatility and pushed prices upward across urban centres, amplifying the economic consequences of the disaster.

The upcountry region, a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s export economy, has suffered extensive destruction. Tea plantations, spice crops such as cardamom, pepper, and cinnamon, floriculture nurseries, and processing factories have all been damaged or rendered inaccessible. Estate workers have been displaced, and each day of lost production further reduces export earnings, deepening the foreign exchange deficit and undermining external sector recovery. To stabilise domestic food availability, the government will be forced to increase imports of rice, vegetables, dairy products, and poultry, which will widen the balance-of-payments deficit and heighten the nation’s reliance on external borrowing—a serious macroeconomic risk for a country still recovering from sovereign default.

The human and social toll has been equally severe, particularly in the hill country where estate communities—historically among the most marginalised groups—have borne the brunt of the disaster. Many have lost homes, daily income, personal assets, and access to basic services such as electricity, communication, healthcare, and food. Schools, clinics, and places of worship have been damaged or destroyed, while washed-out bridges isolate villages, delaying rescue and relief operations. Communication networks have collapsed, impeding emergency warnings, banking, market coordination, and government response. Although the government has declared a national emergency, its capacity to respond is constrained by fiscal limitations, damaged transport networks, shortages of emergency supplies, and delays in restoring communication—revealing structural governance weaknesses that were also exposed during the 2022 crisis.

Lesson for Sri Lanka: Strengthening Agricultural Resilience Through Long-Term Planning

In 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India had achieved a historic milestone by producing 357 million tonnes of food grains—the highest in the country’s history. This achievement was not accidental; it is the result of years of strategic planning, investment in climate-resilient agriculture, improved irrigation systems, modern technology adoption, and strong institutional coordination.

For Sri Lanka, now grappling with the devastating effects of the Ditwah cyclone disaster, India’s experience offers an important lesson: long-term agricultural resilience must be built before crises strike. By strengthening irrigation networks, investing in climate-smart crop varieties, expanding storage facilities, improving farmer extension services, and ensuring continuous government support, Sri Lanka can protect its food security, reduce disaster-related losses, and stabilise the economy in the aftermath of future climate shocks.

International Assistance

India and several partner countries have provided essential support, including medical teams, relief supplies, communication repair units, and engineering assistance. This international cooperation has been crucial in stabilising the humanitarian situation and enabling faster recovery.

Governance Failures

Beyond the scale of the natural disaster, deep-rooted governance weaknesses have significantly amplified the destruction. Allegations have surfaced regarding the failure of local government institutions to maintain critical infrastructure. Although annual funds are allocated for drainage upgrades, routine cleaning, and flood-mitigation systems, many local authorities have reportedly failed to utilise these resources effectively. In some cases, allocated budgets were even returned unspent to the central government, highlighting administrative delays, weak planning, and poor prioritisation at the local level.

Neglected maintenance has left many drainage networks clogged, silted, and dysfunctional. Blocked canals, uncleared stormwater drains, and poor waste-management practices caused rainwater to accumulate rapidly, turning manageable rainfall into destructive floods. These issues have been further exacerbated by widespread illegal construction on wetlands, canals, and river reservations, obstructing natural waterways and reducing the land’s ability to absorb excess rainwater. Together, these failures expose a deeper governance problem—one in which responsibility is widespread, but accountability remains weak, leaving local councils as critical points of vulnerability in Sri Lanka’s disaster-management framework.

Key Policy Priorities

To strengthen Sri Lanka’s ability to withstand future disasters, policymakers must adopt a multi-pronged approach. Climate-resilient agriculture should be prioritised by rebuilding damaged irrigation systems, promoting flood- and drought-tolerant crops, and expanding crop insurance schemes to safeguard rural livelihoods. Modernising transport and infrastructure is equally critical, including reinforcing railway lines, constructing landslide-resistant roads, and upgrading bridges to ensure connectivity during extreme weather events. Enhancing social protection through targeted cash transfers, housing reconstruction programs, and comprehensive healthcare—including mental health support—will help vulnerable communities recover faster. Finally, reforming disaster governance by improving coordination between central and local authorities, decentralising emergency communication systems, and ensuring transparent management of relief funds will strengthen overall preparedness and responsiveness for future crises.

Conclusion

The Ditwah disaster is more than a natural calamity—it represents a decisive turning point for Sri Lanka’s economic and social landscape. The collapse of agriculture, disruption of exports, rising food prices, and increased foreign currency pressures risk pushing the country back toward instability. Yet, this crisis also presents an opportunity: to rebuild smarter, strengthen resilience, and reform the systems that failed.

With effective leadership, strategic planning, and continued international support, Sri Lanka can emerge stronger—and better equipped to withstand future shocks.

*Visvalingam Muralithas is a researcher in the legislative sector, specializing in policy analysis and economic research. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at the University of Colombo, with a research focus on governance, development, and sustainable growth.