Non-stop rain in Uligan for over 24 hours, council at a loss to tackle flooding

Uligan in Haa Alif atoll has been experiencing non-stop rainfall since yesterday afternoon, with the entire island now flooded. Uligan Council remains at a loss to tackle the flooding, citing they have no means to handle the situation.

The ongoing torrential rain in the Maldives has been worse in the northern atolls, with many islands facing damage and loss due to persistent rain and flooding.

Uligan Council President Ahmed Muaz Mohamed told Mihaaru today that the island has been experiencing uninterrupted raining since Monday afternoon.

"We are working on draining the flooding, but it is continuing to rain," he said.

He said that although the population is low, Uligan is a big island. Despite this, nearly all the roads are flooded. Water is now going into the Magistrate Court building, with that area too experiencing flooding.

Muaz said that five houses have reported that flood water has gone inside, with kitchens in some houses having flooded and leaving no way for residents to cook meals.

Photos shared on the council's Facebook page show that the floods are intense on some streets, with the water levels reaching a few feet high.

"It will be hard for us to control the flooding if the raining is relentless like this," Muaz said.

Muaz said that while water has seeped into many residences, they are currently working on making flow paths with excavators on streets and draining the water into the sea.

"There are very few MNDF personnel here in Uligan. They are also here working with us, and the council and residents are also working on placing sand banks at residential entrances. We are using an excavator of MTCC which is used in lagoon dredging to break flow paths on the roads now and try to drain the water into the sea," he outlined the efforts.

Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) does not have a weather station on the island, and hence did not report the amount of rainfall experienced in Uligan in the past 24 hours. However, a weather station owned by a private resident of the island indicates that the island has had 305 mm of rain in the past 37 hours. Of this, 163 mm rainfall was recorded after midnight.

MET Office statistics show that the highest rainfall was recorded in Haa Alif atoll Kelaa in the past 24 hours, which was at 231.5 mm.

Besides Kelaa, Kulhudhuhfushi, too, is experiencing torrential downpours.

The northern atolls of Maldives are experiencing the worst of the current adverse weather conditions, with the MET Office having issued an Orange Alert from Haa Alif to Shaviyani atoll yesterday. Orange Alerts are issued when rainfall is recorded at over 90 mm per hour, and winds are over 63 mph.

Although at present there is a Yellow Alert issued, MET Office warns that wind gusts are at 50 mph with very rough seas predicted.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also warned that flooding is likely and advised to take precautionary measures.