🔗 Share this article

Sri Lankan performer GK Reginold navigates a small craft through flooded neighborhoods, hoping to bring essential supplies to those in urgent circumstances.

Many families, Mr Reginold says, have gone without help for days, isolated by the country's worst natural catastrophe in memory.

Cyclone Ditwah lashed the country last week, bringing widespread destruction that claimed the lives of more than 400 people, with hundreds missing and destroyed 20,000 homes.

But the flooding has also sparked a rise in community help, as citizens face what the president has described as the "most challenging natural disaster" in its history.

"The main reason for getting involved, is to at least ensure they get one meal," he shares. "And I was deeply gratified that I was able to do that."

More than one million people have been impacted by the disaster and a state of emergency has been announced.

The armed forces has deployed helicopters for rescue operations, while relief assistance is arriving from foreign governments and non-governmental organisations.

But it will be a lengthy process to recovery for the nation, which has seen its share of turmoil in recent years.

Community Organizers Pitch In at Community Kitchen

In Colombo's Wijerama neighbourhood, activists who demonstrated in 2022 are now helping run a makeshift kitchen that churns out meals.

The demonstrations from three years ago were driven by a severe economic downturn that caused lack of fuel, food and medicine. Public anger exploded and led to a leadership shift. Now, that political activism is being channelled toward disaster response.

"Some volunteers came after work, some rotated shifts and some even used vacation time to be there," one organizer states.

"We reactivated the group as soon as we heard what was happening last Thursday," he says.

The organizer also views the kitchen as an "extension" of his community service in 2016, when heavy rains and floods killed hundreds across the country.

Volunteers have compiled hundreds of requests for help, shared them to authorities, and organized the delivery of food.

"Every request we made, we got more than enough in response from the community," he says.

Digital Campaigns for Aid

A wave of coordination is also happening on the internet, where netizens have created a public database to direct donations and volunteers.

Another community-run website helps supporters find shelters and identify what is in highest demand in those areas.

Local businesses have organized donation drives, while local television channels have initiated an campaign to provide food and essential items like soap and toothbrushes.

Amid criticism over the management of preparations, the president has urged citizens to "put aside all divisions" and "come together to rebuild the nation".

Opposition politicians have claimed authorities of ignoring forecasts, which they say worsened the disaster's impact.

Recently, opposition lawmakers protested in parliament, arguing that the government was trying to restrict debate on the disaster.

In affected communities, however, there remains a sense of unity as people pick up the pieces after the floods.

"In the end, the satisfaction of helping someone else in a crisis makes that tiredness fade," the organizer wrote after putting in long hours at relief sites.

"Crises are not new to us. But, the compassion and capacity of our hearts is greater than the destruction that occurs during a disaster."