Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday (January 1, 2026) said eight foreign vessels, including two from India, have been honoured for providing assistance to the island nation after the Cyclone Ditwah disaster that saw over 600 deaths.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya personally expressed gratitude to a group of diplomatic officials of the countries concerned, Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Commander Sampath said in Colombo.

Widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse across the island nation severely strained the country’s disaster-response capacity in the wake of the Cyclone Ditwah that hit Sri Lanka in November last week.

Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and another ship INS Udaygiri of the Indian Navy were the first to get involved in the rescue and relief operations.

Sting in the tail: on Cyclone Ditwah, its impact

When Ditwah made a landfall on November 27, eight foreign naval warships had arrived here to take part in the International Fleet Review 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy.

Highlighting the spirit of global and regional cooperation, the Sri Lanka Navy had acknowledged — in the immediate aftermath of the disaster — the “invaluable support by foreign warships, extending much-needed Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, during the recent weather disaster in Sri Lanka,” a release said.

“Due to the disaster-situation triggered by severe weather conditions across the island, foreign warships that arrived for the event were promptly redirected to support humanitarian efforts. Particularly, helicopters deployed from the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant,” it added.

India’s relief and assistance mission – Operation Sagar Bandhu – commenced on the very day that Cyclone Ditwah made landfall. INS Vikrant and INS Udayagiri delivered relief material.

Operation Sagar Bandhu delivered over 1,100 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential clothing and water purification kits.

About 14.5 tons of medicines and medical equipment were also provided. Yet another 60 tons of equipment was brought to Sri Lanka to assist the relief operations.

Several Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force were active for a period of more than two weeks in Sri Lanka.

As of January 1, as many as 644 people have died and 175 are still missing since November 16, as landslides, floods and rainfall caused widespread destruction, data from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo showed.

India on December 23, 2025 announced a reconstruction package of $450 million for Sri Lanka, as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with the island nation’s top leaders and assured Delhi’s steadfast commitment to Colombo’s rebuilding post-cyclone.

The assistance package will include $350 million in concessional Lines of Credit and $100 million of grants.

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha on Saturday (December 6, 2025) met Sri Lankan corporate leaders and reiterated India’s continued support for the cyclone-hit island nation, where the disaster has claimed over 600 lives so far.

Mr. Jha’s meeting with the corporate leaders associated with the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund’ came as Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse following Cyclone Ditwah.

As many as 607 people have died so far in the disaster, which also left several districts isolated and acutely strained the country’s disaster-response capacity.

Mr. Jha met the corporate leaders to discuss the “way ahead for rehabilitation and recovery”, the Indian High Commission said in an X post.

He also briefed them on the elements of “India‘s response and continued commitment to stand by Sri Lanka in its resurgence from this crisis,” it added.

India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka’s international appeal for assistance under its Operation Sagar Bandhu.

Its humanitarian assistance has continued across land and air, focusing on both emergency response and sustained medical care, the Indian mission said in a press release.

Since the launch of Operation Sagar Bandhu on November 28, India has provided more than 58 tonnes of relief material including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, water purification kits and around 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment.

Sting in the tail: on Cyclone Ditwah, its impact

Another 50 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, and Outboard Motors, have been provided, and 130 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units have been airlifted along with 31 engineers to restore critical connectivity.

Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, conducted rescue and relief operations, evacuating around 150 stranded persons. A full-fledged field hospital with 78 medical personnel from India is now providing life-saving care in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy.

Indian Air Force at the frontline of aerial operations

Medical centres have also been set up from the BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri). Arogya Maitri cubes in the badly hit Ja-Ela and Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and INS Sukanya have provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka. Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material.

Further, about 2,500 stranded Indians were evacuated from Sri Lanka, including more than 400 on IAF aircraft.

The NDRF teams, which returned home on Friday, worked closely with Sri Lankan authorities and conducted extensive search, rescue and relief operations.

The teams evacuated around 150 people, assisted vulnerable groups including pregnant women and the physically challenged, recovered the deceased, distributed food packets, and restored safe water by de-watering contaminated wells. IAF helicopters remain at the frontline of aerial operations, safely airlifting those affected from Kotmale to Katunayake on Thursday for further medical care and support.

On Friday, Indian MI-17 helicopters evacuated 7 survivors and airlifted 9.5 tons of relief material under the coordination of Sri Lankan authorities, the Indian mission said.