Residents of Kithulbadde village in central Sri Lanka say they have been left in the lurch after last week's deadly cyclone and many are stuck in relief centres as damaged infrastructure has made them wary of returning home.

Officials estimate the damage runs into billions of dollars, a headache for the island nation just recovering from an economic crash.

Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are all reeling from the effects. At least 1,600 people have perished and hundreds are still missing. Nearly 11m people have been affected and over a million displaced by continued flooding.

November to January are usually the busiest season for Herath Gedara Rohan Anil Kumara’s three-bedroom homestay in Sri Lanka’s hill country, famed for its tea plantations, historic sites and quaint villages.

Sri Lanka faces estimated economic losses of USD 6–7 billion; the IMF has reiterated its commitment to supporting the country’s recovery and is considering additional options following the cyclone.

In Chemmani, northern Sri Lanka, a mass grave uncovered earlier this year is forcing a nation to confront the darkest chapters of its past. More than 200 skeletons, some of them children, have been exhumed near a former war zone,

Rescuers in Sri Lanka were scrambling to clear roads and deliver aid to more than half a million people hit by a cyclone last week.

Sri Lankan actor and musician GK Reginold rides a motorised fishing boat through Colombo's suburbs, hoping to bring food and water to those in desperate need. Some of the families, Mr Reginold says, have not received aid for days,

Our parents were submerged in water. We, too, have gone under water. Will our children also suffer the same fate?”