Sri Lanka Declares 22 Districts as National Disaster Affected Areas Following Cyclone Ditwah

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Government of Sri Lanka has officially declared 22 administrative districts as National Disaster Affected Areas under the provisions of the Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 19 of 2010.

This declaration follows the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025, which triggered severe floods and landslides across the island.

According to the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2465/08, issued on December 2, 2025, the affected districts include:

Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Kurunegala, Matale, Kegalle, Gampaha, Mullaitivu, Anuradhapura, Colombo, Jaffna, Polonnaruwa, Mannar, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Monaragala, Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, and Kalutara.

The declaration was signed by Registrar General S. Jalatheepan at the Registrar General’s Department in Battaramulla.

This move enables expedited administrative processes, including the registration of deaths in disaster-hit areas, and signals the scale of the humanitarian crisis facing the country.