Cyclone Ditwah: Diary of the First Five Days
RANGALA HOUSE, SRI LANKA
Here is a brief description of our experience at Rangala House during the period when the cyclone first hit.
Wednesday, 26th Nov
We have four guests here at the moment: David and Samantha in the Avocado Room, and Georgina and her mum, Jennifer, in the Bay Window Room. They have been very philosophical about the terrible weather, and I’m grateful for that.
There has been heavy rain, more or less non-stop, since they arrived several days ago. Despite this, they managed a day in Kandy; David did the waterfall trek, and Sam came up to see Rangala School. David and Samantha cancelled their journey to Sigiriya because of the worsening situation and stayed here an extra night. The rain is now torrential, and we are getting concerned about their departure tomorrow.
Thursday, 27th Nov
The downpour increased and lasted all night many centimeters of rain. This morning, there were no buses tooting on the road, which is an ominous sign. News has come in of multiple landslides on the road down to Teldeniya.
By mid-morning, despite much uncertainty, we formed a plan to get the guests safely away. The road is passable except for a landslide below the Hindu temple at Udispatuwa. Amila ferried the guests down in our SUV, accompanied by Rooben in the tuk-tuk. The tuk-tuk took them and their luggage, bit by bit, around the landslide to their drivers who were waiting on the other side.
The situation is worsening quickly. Thank goodness Rooben and Amila returned safely. The road by Rohan’s has started to buckle and twist, presumably due to the pressure of underground water. The rain is increasing with no letup. Our stream has become a thundering orange cataract; it is quite unnerving. Amila has warned the children not to go near it would quickly kill anyone who fell in. Mains electricity, SLT, and broadband are still functioning for now.
Friday, 28th Nov
The rain overnight was deafening. We are now entirely cut off. All services are down Broadband, SLT, and CEB went first, followed by mobile phones and 4G by lunchtime. A massive landslide of earth and broken tarmac is now piled up against Rohan’s smaller building; we fear it may all go.
About 200m up the road towards Duckwari, there are two more landslides. One is a huge rock that fell from the tea estate side; a tuk-tuk could get around it, but not a car.
Another 100m further up, a major landslide has crossed the whole road a huge heap of orange mud with boulders, tea bushes, broken trees, and cables.
We heard that an elderly lady died when her house was swept away, not far from Dakshina’s parents’ house. The rain continues to thunder, accompanied by an increasing, howling gale. Everyone here is okay, but we cannot contact anyone. We are wondering about Amila’s parents at Hantana and also Shanika. I managed a few minutes with Sam on WhatsApp this morning, but now there is nothing.
Saturday, 29th Nov
Rain and gales continued last night, though slightly less intense. All services remain off. We still have Dialog TV when the generator is running our only connection to the outside world. The images on Derana of floods and mudslides are just awful; it seems to be island-wide.
Amila tried to get to Bobebila in a tuk-tuk with Ruwan this morning by taking the “short walk” estate track, but a fallen tree blocked the way. He walked from there and caught a tuk-tuk to Kandy to check if his parents are okay at Hantana, where there were serious landslips a few years ago. He also hopes to get news of his sister, Shan.
For the last two days, the rain has been accompanied by dense fog. Visibility is uniform at about 70m. I have never seen this before high winds but unchanging fog all day. The cyclone center has now moved north towards Tamil Nadu. I checked on the cattle this morning; they are okay but very wet. A JCB digger turned up in Bobebila but was unable to tackle the landslide at Rohan’s. The biggest problem is the lack of 4G no phone or messages. Being without a mobile is salutary in a way, but under these circumstances, it is quite stressful.
Sunday, 30th Nov
A day of fog and damp. Loni and I walked up to see the diggers at work clearing the landslide towards Duckwari. People are still scrambling through the mud to get through, while others wait patiently. The trees look ghostly in the fog.
We are so lucky here. We have everything we need and enough food and water. I even played Pickasticks with the kids! Mobile calls are now possible again, though patchy.
Monday, 1st Dec
The first day of good weather clear blue skies with the land steaming in the sunshine. A few military helicopters have flown over; rumor has it they are the only means of aid to Meemure in the remote Knuckles region.
Amila’s parents are okay, but their house is ruined. Cracks are appearing in the walls and floors, and the doors won’t open. It is dangerous to live in, and they have been ordered to move out. They have lost ownership of the property with no insurance. We hope for government compensation later, but for now, we must find them a place to live.
Ruwan is in a similar situation; a landslip occurred about 2m in front of his house. He, his wife, and their little boy have moved in with his father (our cowman), so they are safe for the time being.
The storm is over; now comes the reckoning. The reports on TV show terrible devastation.
