Damages sustained in fire worth MVR 35 million: NDMA

National Disaster Management Authority (MDNA) on Friday revealed that the financial losses sustained in the tragic fire incident that blazed through capital Male' in September adds up to over MVR 35 million.

The fire incident which originated from a chemical storage on Abadhahfehi Magu in Henveiru ward engulfed 14 houses, six warehouses and claimed a life.

Over 400 individuals were displaced due to the incident, out of which 145 are still lodging at residences provided by NDMA.

Speaking at a press conference held by the authority, NDMA's Deputy CEO Umar Fikury stated that Ministry of Planning and Urban Development, Ministry of Housing and engineers from Maldives National Defence Force assessed a total of 30 buildings in the area.

According to the assessments, Umar disclosed that the damages will cost well over MVR 35 million.

"There were many questions on whether the buildings should be demolished or if the concrete has the capacity to uphold the building. The structural assessment took some time as we attempted to answer these questions", Umar elaborated.

He noted that the total value of damages will add up to MVR 36 million if household appliances and items were added, which alone will cost over MVR 1 million.

NDMA also noted that MVR 1.1 million was issued for the government to pay the cost of three months of rent for those displaced in the fire, in addition to an MVR 1.5 million for arrangement of food provision.

Umar stated that details about distributing the funds collected by the public to provide compensation for the displaced families will be revealed within the following week.

"Every family has a different standard of living. We're looking into the case of each individual family to provide what is best for them", Umar said.

NDMA's CEO Hisaan Hassan guaranteed that none of the families that underwent the tragedy were homeless, adding that negotiations were in progress to pave way for the families to rent out new households.

"There are a lot of background issues with tenants leasing residences to other parties and we have to find such information with the cooperation of the families, the owners and lessor", she said.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration announced that all chemical storage facilities must be relocated to Thilafushi, away from residential areas.