Sri Lanka Faces Disaster Debt Trap as UNDP Seeks Global Aid

The UNDP has raised the alarm over Sri Lanka’s worsening post-cyclone recovery, warning that the country is confronting a dual crisis of massive disaster damage and severe debt vulnerability.

The agency has urged development partners to extend concessional financing and non-debt instruments, arguing that Sri Lanka lacks the fiscal space to rebuild responsibly after Cyclone Ditwah, which inundated 20% of the country and triggered 1,200 landslides.

UNDP Resident Representative Azusa Kubota said the disaster hit at a moment when Sri Lanka’s economy was only beginning to stabilise. “After one of its worst economic crises, Sri Lanka cannot absorb more debt to fund recovery,” she said, stressing that donor support is essential to prevent the country from “falling off the debt cliff.”

UNDP’s geospatial mapping shows a massive scale of exposure: 2.3 million people, including 522,000 children and 263,000 older persons, were affected by floods and landslides.

Divisional Secretariats in Puttalam, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, and Kegalle reflect the most severe combined impacts, where fragile governance systems and pre-existing poverty amplify recovery challenges.

The disaster’s infrastructure toll is enormous. Nearly 720,000 buildings from hospitals to schools were exposed to water. Colombo, Gampaha, and Polonnaruwa districts recorded some of the highest totals, with Ja-Ela alone reporting more than 44,000 exposed structures.

The transport network has been heavily disrupted, with 16,000 km of roads, 480 bridges, and 278 km of railway affected, cutting communities off from critical services.

Debris removal has emerged as one of the biggest barriers to recovery. More than 240,000 tons of non-construction waste and 60,000 cubic metres of construction debris have been recorded, with Colombo facing the largest volumes. Costs continue to rise as verification progresses.

Agricultural exposure is equally damaging. Over 530,000 hectares of paddy land were flooded—endangering national food security. In several districts, 20–30% of households lack even a week’s worth of dry food, signalling the depth of the humanitarian strain.

UNDP’s early recovery plan calls for urgent action: restoring essential services, supporting MSMEs, rebuilding community infrastructure, and replacing vital documentation lost in the disaster. The agency also emphasised strengthening local authorities who must manage relief registries and community outreach.

UNDP Crisis Bureau official Devanand Ramiah stated that the cyclone demonstrated how multiple risks can converge rapidly, making global support indispensable.

With Sri Lanka still negotiating debt sustainability in the aftermath of its economic collapse, UNDP’s appeal underscores a grim reality: without external concessional support, rebuilding will push the nation deeper into the debt trap it is struggling to escape.