Several islands under water as Maldives experiences spell of bad weather

Due to the heavy rain showers being experienced due to the squally weather across the Maldives in the past few days, some island across the island nation have experienced intense flooding, with several properties left damaged in the wake of floods.

The capital, Malé City was lashed by 89.4 millimeters of rainfall between 8am Tuesday to 8am Wednesday, flooding all parts of the city with which challenges surfaced for those operating vehicles and walking on the roads.

Some parts of the city were immersed in knee-deep floods over the past 24 hours, disrupting daily activities for several.

Due to this, the government declared Wednesday a public holiday.

In some of the flood-affected islands, officers of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) have been engaged in efforts to drain the flood water and control the flow of the water into households.

As such, MNDF’s Northern Area Command and Kulhudhuffushi Fire Station has been deployed to drain water from the streets of Kulhudhuffushi City as well as Baarah island of Haa Alif atoll.

With the roads of the capital city flooded, authorities have urged the public to pay special heed to their safety as well as that of others, while traveling on the Sinamalé Bridge and highway.

Further, the public is urged to not hold umbrellas when operating a motorcycle and not use raincoats that can easily be damaged due to the strong winds, as well as to wear helmets properly.

MPS revealed that driving with head lights on is a precautionary measure to be taken if one is driving while it’s raining.

Officials of the MNDF Malé Area Command and the Villimalé Fire Station were deployed to drain out water in Villimalé due to flooding, as well.

According to information publicized by MNDF, their Fire and Rescue Service teams were deployed to pump out water from at least 10 flooded areas in the capital, due to heavy rainfall, by Tuesday evening. Heavily flooded areas on Tuesday included IGMH, West Park, Pizza Buona, Dhiraagu as well as the Dharubaaruge region.

Due to flood water entering residences, authorities had also worked to place sand bags at the entrances of some homes.

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) revealed that the RTL Orchid Route (R10) buses and Ameenee Route (R11) were temporarily suspended as the Rasfannu area was closed to the public due to heavy rains and floods. MTCC also announced that Maafannu Bus Terminal has been designated as the last stop for buses on West Park and Hulhumalé (R1) routes, West Park and VI Route (R3), Hulhumalé Phase II and West Park (R7) routes.

The police have also advised the public not to travel at sea unless absolutely necessary.

Taking to social media platform ‘X’, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has assured that the government will continue to provide assistance to all those affected by the torrential rains in different atolls as well as the capital region.

The president added that one of the main objectives of the road development initiative in the capital is to solve the flooding crisis.

Muizzu also said that the issue of flooding in most of the islands of the Maldives would be addressed by taking up the road projects as planned every year on priority basis.

According to the Maldives Meteorological Department, squally weather will prevail across most parts over the course of the next five days, with torrential rain, thunderstorms, swell wave surges, rough seas and strong winds expected nationwide.

MMS revealed that Thoddoo island in Alif Alif atoll experienced 70.6 millimeters of rainfall by Wednesday morning.

63.4 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Hulhulé 54.1 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in Hithadhoo district of southernmost Addu City.

The heaviest rainfall in recent days was recorded in Kelaa island of Haa Alif atoll, at 231.5 millimeters of rainfall on Monday. MMS revealed that this is a record amount from an Automatic Weather Station (AWS) to date.

Due to the adverse weather conditions, the department has been issuing several alerts, including white, yellow and orange over the past couple of days.   

The most recent one was a yellow alert issued from Haa Alif atoll to Faafu atoll after predicting strong winds of 25 – 30 miles per hour and gusts of 50 miles per hour with very rough seas. A white alert was also effective until sundown, across all islands in southern atolls for heavy rain and thunderstorms with gusts of 40 miles per hour.

Over the past 24 hours, Hulhulé experienced the highest winds speed at 47 miles per hour.

The department has urged all to exercise caution over the next five days, as very rough seas are expected, and seafarers have been strongly advised to be cautious and take all safety precautions.

Maldives experiences heavy rain showers and adverse weather conditions during the southwest monsoon as well as the northeast monsoon. Extensive periods of strong winds and adverse weather conditions are usually experienced mostly during the southwest monsoon.

Such adverse weather conditions have caused trees to uproot, roofs to be torn off, and heavy debris falling onto houses, causing immense damage. The squally weather during monsoon also causes extensive damage to crop in some islands and presents challenges for seafarers and fishermen as well. Some islands have been experiencing swell waves surges during high tides as well.