A Pakistani rescue contingent landed in Colombo on Tuesday, bringing emergency supplies to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to cope with severe flooding. The team arrived on a C-130 after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a rapid response as conditions worsened across the island.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner, Major General (retd) Faheem Ul Aziz, and Sri Lanka’s deputy ports minister were at the airport to receive the group and oversee the handover of relief goods.
The HC reaffirmed Islamabad’s full support on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and emphasised that Pakistan stands with Sri Lanka in times of adversity.
He announced that an additional 200 tonnes of relief supplies would reach by sea in the coming days.
At least 465 people have been killed as a result of last week’s cyclone, while another 366 remain missing. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency and called for international support.
Pakistan Navy and aviation units have already engaged in surveillance, medical evacuation, and rescue operations in Sri Lanka.
Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, earlier in the day, stated that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) remains fully committed to responding to disasters and mitigating their adverse impacts, both within Pakistan and in affected countries abroad.
The NDMA has also sent 200 tons of relief goods to Sri Lanka via ship to support the people of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and conveyed his deepest sorrow over the tragic loss of life and property due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Taking to his X handle, PM Shehbaz said that he extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and commended the swift and courageous efforts of Sri Lankan authorities and rescue teams in these extremely difficult conditions.
“As a neighbour and brotherly country, Pakistan has always stood in full solidarity with Sri Lanka, especially in moments of grief,” the premier added.
Rescuers expect the death toll to rise as they regain access to areas that had been cut off from electricity and telephones for days.
The disaster is already the deadliest since the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami of 2004, which devastated Sri Lanka’s coastline.
This time, the entire country has been affected either by landslides or floods. The Disaster Management Centre said that over 1.5 million people were affected.
Meanwhile, torrential monsoon season deluges paired with two separate tropical cyclones last week dumped heavy rain not only in Sri Lanka but parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.
Governments and aid groups in Indonesia and Sri Lanka worked to rush aid to hundreds of thousands stranded by deadly flooding that has killed more than 1,300 people in four countries.
Climate change is producing more intense rain events because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and warmer oceans can turbocharge storms.
