COLOMBO, Dec. 3 -- Over 275,000 children across Sri Lanka have been affected by Cyclone Ditwah and are facing an escalating humanitarian crisis, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Sri Lanka, said on Tuesday (2), noting that the numbers are from an initial estimate and that disrupted communications and blocked access routes imply the actual number may be even higher.

Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on the East Coast early on Friday (Nov 28), causing widespread floods and devastating landslides, affecting over 1.5 million people across the country.

Emma Brigham, UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the UN body remains deeply concerned about the destruction the cyclone has caused to children and the...