Statistics from Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has revealed that Male' City, during the relentless downpour yesterday, recorded 89 millimeters of rainfall.
Statistics from Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has revealed that Male' City, during its relentless downpour yesterday recorded 89 millimeters of rainfall.
These statistics indicate that Male' experienced the highest amount of rainfall yesterday. The second highest rainfall was recorded in Alif Alif atoll Thoddoo which observed 70.6 mm of rainfall. Meanwhile, Hulhule', where Velana International Airport (VIA) is located, had received 63.4 mm of rain while Hulhumale' recorded 42.1 mm.
Haa Alif Kelaa, which observed the highest amount of rainfall on Monday at 223.5 mm had recorded 32.7 mm of rain yesterday.
Meteorologist at MET Office, Hussain Waheed said on state media, PSM yesterday that Male' City had encountered unusual stormy conditions yesterday.
"In light of rainfall records identified by us, the Male' area generally suffers flooding incidents even if the region records 40 or 45 mm of rainfall within an hour or even two." he said.
"However, we noticed today [yesterday] that the rain gauge placed by us in Male' shows that between 12:00 hrs and 15:00 hrs - in approximately three hours, Male' had experienced 80 mm of rainfall."
Waheed said that this short-lived stormy condition in Male' had recorded much higher levels of rainfall compared to its typical amount. The excessive flooding in the city yesterday was also due to the temporary stormy weather, he elaborated, which recorded twice the amount of rainfall from the usual figure.
Meanwhile, Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), who led efforts to drain flood water from Male' streets yesterday revealed that over 7 million liters of water were drained from roads during the process.
Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has cautioned that even though there may be less rainfall today, the seas are expected to be very rough with strong winds across much of the country
Predicting strong winds, MET also earlier released Yellow Alert from Haa Alif atoll to Alif Dhaalu atoll until 14:00 hrs today. The agency forecasted wind speeds between 25 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts of 50 miles per hour during this period.
Yesterday, the strongest winds were experienced in Hulhule' with speeds of 47 miles per hour.
Concerned authorities have advised those travelling via sea to exercise extreme caution today.
Maldives has been experiencing stormy weather these past days with the southwest monsoon (Hulhan'gu monsoon) intensifying. Yesterday, Male' and several islands across the atoll had torrential downpours leading to heavy flash floods.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu last night formed a dedicated Task Force to monitor losses caused to citizens due to the adverse weather conditions, and to seek swift solutions.
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