Representational.
Colombo: The severe and worsening effects of cyclone Ditwah have killed 56 people and left 21 missing in Sri Lanka. The cyclone triggered heavy rainfall, deadly landslides and widespread disruption in the island country, a report by Akashvani News stated.
The crisis has affected nearly 44,000 people, with their homes destroyed and the transport network severely ruined.
Showers in the last 24 hours reached extreme levels, with some areas recording 200 to 315 mm of rainfall.
Five flights, three from the Middle East region and one each from Malaysia and India, bound for Sri Lanka, were diverted to the Thiruvanathapuram International Airport (TIAL) on Friday due to bad weather over Colombo, TIAL said.
TIAL said that more flights are likely to be diverted to Thiruvananthapuram in view of a cyclone warning over Colombo.
Two were Srilankan Airlines flights, one each from Dubai and Doha, one was an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi, and one was an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL) said.
The fifth was an Indigo flight from Mumbai to Colombo, it said.
Cyclonic storm 'Ditwah', formed from a deep depression near the Sri Lanka coast, was reported moving towards the north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra coasts, on Thursday.
Strong winds, heavy rain and dangerous sea conditions are expected over the next few days, she added.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority met under the leadership of Chief Minister M K Stalin to review special initiatives undertaken for disaster management.
The name, 'Ditwah', referring to the lagoon, was suggested by Yemen, the RMC chief said. It is likely named after Detwah Lagoon, a large, saline lagoon on the northwest coast of the island of Socotra in Yemen.