Maldives Extends USD 50,000 in Aid, 25,000 Cases of Tuna to Sri Lanka Following Cyclone
People and vehicles wading through flooded streets in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. | Photo: Reuters
The Maldivian government has announced it will provide USD 50,000 (approximately MVR 771,000) in financial assistance and donate 25,000 cases of canned tuna to Sri Lanka in response to the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
In a statement, the government said the relief package is being extended on behalf of the Maldivian people as a show of solidarity with its close neighbour. Officials described the contribution as a modest but meaningful effort to support Sri Lanka’s ongoing emergency response and to reaffirm the longstanding ties between the two nations.
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The Maldivian government said it hopes its assistance will support the Sri Lankan authorities in delivering aid to affected communities and strengthen the close bonds shared between the two countries.
Sri Lanka is currently grappling with severe weather conditions triggered by the cyclone, with foreign media reporting at least 69 deaths and around 34 people still missing. This week’s weather-related toll is the country’s highest since June last year, when heavy rainfall claimed 26 lives. The extreme conditions form part of a wider regional crisis in Southeast Asia, where flooding has killed more than 300 people across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Sri Lankan security forces intensified rescue operations on Friday as the country continued to reel from days of severe flooding and landslides. Helicopters and navy boats were deployed to airlift and ferry stranded residents from rooftops, treetops and remote villages cut off by rising waters. Officials confirmed that additional bodies had been recovered in the central region, where mudslides had earlier buried homes and displaced hundreds.
According to the Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre, heavy rainfall persisted across the country, with some areas recording up to 360 millimetres in the past 24 hours, raising fears of further flooding and complicating ongoing rescue and recovery efforts.
