Last updated: 29 November 2025, 18:54 IST State of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka. This country is facing the worst tragedy this decade. Storm Ditvah took hundreds of lives. Apart from this, there is still no trace of 176 people. Thousands of soldiers from all three armies have come together to fight this storm, but the situation worsens every day. State of Emergency declared in Sri Lanka Colombo: The President of Sri Lanka recently declared a state of emergency in the entire country. Cyclone ‘Ditvaha’ caused severe devastation in Sri Lanka, following which a state of emergency was declared in the country on Saturday. The death toll in this terrible natural disaster has reached 132, while 176 people are still missing. Thousands of soldiers from the army, navy and air force landed on the ground to fight this monster. What is the situation in Sri Lanka? According to the Disaster Management Center (DMC), this storm completely destroyed more than 15,000 houses. About 78,000 people had to take shelter in temporary government shelters. Sampath Kotuvegoda, director general of the DMC, said relief operations have been intensified. Sri Lanka has also appealed for international help to deal with this devastating crisis. How do thousands of soldiers fight against demon Ditvaah? President Anura Kumara Dissanayake introduced emergency laws to deal with the destruction. Officials said that electricity and water supplies are at a standstill in about one-third of the country. In such circumstances, thousands of soldiers from the army, navy and air force were landed on the ground to fight the storm. The storm is likely to move towards the southern coast of India by Sunday. Why did it become necessary to introduce emergency? Cyclone Ditvaha brought the worst tragedy in Sri Lanka in the last decade. There are many areas that are completely cut off from the rest of the country. Even the screams of the people trapped there do not reach the government. Local officials said entire settlements were buried in the landslide, and efforts to save them kept failing. To deal with this crisis, it became necessary to impose emergency in the country. The main objective of the emergency is to quickly scale up search and rescue operations and prevent mass casualties. Road networks, bridges, railway lines and power grids were badly damaged, requiring rapid and centralized action, which could only be possible with an emergency declaration. First published: 29 November 2025, 18:01 IST home world Emergency declared in Sri Lanka, ‘demon’ Ditwah took 132 lives