Sri Lanka moved from expressions of sympathy to an offer of practical help for Nepal on Thursday, as the death toll from the flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border rose to 162.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka stood ready to assist Nepal with rescue and clearance operations, in a message posted on X and reported by Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life following the devastating floods in Nepal,” the President said. “As a nation still emerging from a deadly cyclone just 10 months ago, we share the grief of the Nepalese people.”

He conveyed condolences to President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister Balendra Shah and the people of Nepal.

Foreign ministers speak

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath followed with a telephone conversation with his Nepalese counterpart, Shisir Khanal, Ada Derana reported. Herath said Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centres would coordinate directly with Nepalese authorities to identify what specific assistance was required.

“Sri Lanka remains steadfast in its solidarity and commitment to our close friend and neighbour, Nepal,” he said in a post on X.

The call is the first concrete step beyond statements. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that no Sri Lankan nationals were known to have been affected, but neither that statement nor Herath’s earlier solidarity message indicated whether Colombo would offer material help.

Ada Derana renders the Nepalese foreign minister’s name as Shisir Khanal in Thursday’s report and Shishir Khanal in its Wednesday filings.

Cross-party message

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also expressed solidarity with Nepal, saying in a post on X that he was deeply distressed by the devastation. His thoughts were with the families of those killed, the hundreds still missing and the rescue teams “working against time,” Ada Derana reported.

Advisory for Sri Lankans in Nepal

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu has issued a safety advisory to nationals in the country, according to Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror.

The advisory covers Sri Lankans in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan districts and along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors. They have been urged to avoid rivers, riverbanks, bridges and low-lying areas, to follow instructions from local authorities, to check road conditions before travelling and not to attempt to cross flooded roads or streams. Those planning journeys to affected districts have been told to postpone them.

The Embassy is operating a 24-hour emergency hotline on +977 9851048653, with assistance also available by email at [email protected].

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Kathmandu has previously estimated that 85 to 100 Sri Lankan nationals are currently in Nepal, including about 20 students who arrived recently.

Toll rises to 162

Nepali police said the death toll had risen to 162, Ada Derana reported, citing the BBC. Of those, 64 were recovered in downstream areas of Chitwan district and another 26 in Nawalparasi East — leaving 72 of the confirmed dead found elsewhere, chiefly in Rasuwa, where the surge entered Nepal.

Twenty-eight police officers are among the hundreds still unaccounted for. Chitwan, a tourism centre known for its jungle safaris, is one of several municipalities placed on high alert as floodwaters move downstream.

The figure marks a sharp rise from the 95 deaths reported late on Wednesday, when Nepali police also put the number of missing tourists at 579.

Context

The President’s reference to a “deadly cyclone just 10 months ago” points to Cyclone Ditwah, after which Sri Lanka itself relied heavily on foreign assistance — including an Indian credit line, an ADB reconstruction package and a Chinese grant for bridge rebuilding. Recovery from that disaster is still under way.

Neither report specified what form Sri Lankan assistance would take, whether personnel or relief supplies would be sent, or what it would cost.

Sources