PM Modi assured Sri Lankan President of India’s continued support to the island nation under the ongoing Operation Sagar Bandhu, providing rescue and relief to distressed persons

Former ambassador Asif Durrani criticised India’s decision, calling it petty and recalling similar refusals in past crises, including when Pakistan sought to send aid to Nepal. He noted that Pakistan had previously allowed India to send wheat to Afghanistan via land when alternatives through Iran proved costly.

Kandy is the worst-affected district, where 88 deaths and 150 missing cases have been recorded. Other badly hit areas include Badulla with 71 deaths, Nuwara Eliya with 68 deaths and Matale with 23 deaths and many more injuries and losses.

Cyclone Ditwah is likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and reach over southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Coasts by November 30, the India Meterological Department (IMD) said.

Downpours and landslides led to hundreds of deaths in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Separately, rainfall and landslides from Cyclone Ditwah also led to more than 100 deaths in Sri Lanka.

The scale of destruction sweeping through Asia is hard to comprehend unless you see it firsthand. Communities that stood for generations have been wiped away in hours. What's happening across Southeast Asia right now isn't just another storm season.

The death toll mounted to over 600 from floods and landslides caused by torrential rains across three countries in Southeast Asia, officials said on Sunday, as relief efforts for tens of thousands of displaced people continued over the weekend.