A habitable, equal and prosperous 21st century is materially possible. The carbon budget allows it and history offers precedents at comparable scales: universal suffrage, the universalisation of healthcare and education, the halving of working hours and the sharp compression of inequality over the 20th century. Technical impossibility is not what is standing in the way, but rather the absence of a shared vision of social progress, at once concrete and radical. What it will take instead is political choice, and the hard work of coalition-building behind it.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka is in the grip of a historic weather catastrophe as Cyclonic Storm Ditwah tears across the island, leaving a trail of devastation marked by unprecedented flooding, deadly landslides, and widespread destruction.

The storm, which intensified from a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, is now battering the eastern coastline and moving inland with ferocious winds and relentless rain.

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The Department of Meteorology warns that the next 24 hours are critical. Ditwah made landfall near Pottuvil on the eastern coast and is tracking north-northwest, cutting across Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, and the central highlands including Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, before moving toward Kurunegala and Anuradhapura. This trajectory threatens regions historically vulnerable to flooding and landslides.

Meteorologists caution that continued rainfall over the mountains will trigger massive floods downstream, particularly in the western and southern lowlands, including Ratnapura, Galle, and Matara, and sometimes even the bustling business district of Colombo. Rivers and reservoirs are swelling to dangerous levels, submerging roads and inundating villages.

Authorities have issued red alerts for immediate evacuation in multiple Divisional Secretariat areas across Badulla, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya, citing heightened landslide risks. At least 20 districts are affected, with thousands seeking refuge in temporary shelters.

Transport and power networks are crippled. Railway services have canceled all night mail trains except the Jaffna route, while the Ceylon Electricity Board battles to restore power after 45,000 outages, with nearly 28,000 connections reinstated despite ongoing weather hurdles.

Schools, preschools, and early childhood centers will remain closed nationwide from November 28 until conditions improve.

Ditwah is driving very heavy rainfall exceeding 200 mm in Northern, North-Central, Central, and North-Western provinces, and 150 mm or more in Sabaragamuwa, Western, Badulla, and Batticaloa districts. Winds of 60–70 km/h, gusting up to 80 km/h, are expected across most parts of the island.

(Source)

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