As heavy rain continues to flood Malé City, Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has claimed that most of the stormwater pump stations in the capital “have been destroyed”.

He said this via a tweet early Tuesday morning, alleging that the ‘panel boards’ of the stormwater pump systems had been purposely damaged, and that the electricity supply to some of the pumps “have been cut off”.

“I condemn this uncivilized act,” he added to the tweet, adding that he “apologizes to the people” for the inconvenience caused.

In a second tweet, the minister added that the stormwater pump stations are designed to drain water “within three hours after the rain stops”.

He further noted that any issues with the system “will not allow this to be achieved”.

Tuesday morning’s downpour caused flooding across Malé, and officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)’s Fire and Rescue team have been working to drain the water.

The same issue occurred on Sunday as well.