Public outcry as severe flooding hits capital Male

Citizens of Male are voicing complaints over the severe flooding of roads in the capital city due to heavy monsoon rains this week.

Several commuters have expressed the difficulties they faced due to flooding, especially in Ameenee Magu road and the vicinity of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

The government came under fire for not declaring Tuesday a holiday for public schools, while privately-run Ghiyasuddin International School cancelled sessions due to the heavy rainfall and flooding.

People are highly critical of the recent floods, in light of the government-funded MVR 12 million four-phase project, carried out by Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC), to establish a quality stormwater drainage system, including the placement of pump systems along Ameenee Magu.

Despite the project, the government had announced that cleaning drains and pumping runoff water were not permanent solutions to the problem, which can only be brought about by a dramatic change in the road system.

Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the Minister for Housing and Infrastructure, posted a tweet on Tuesday, explaining that the recent floods were the result of intentional damage to the stormwater drainage system installed in Male’, which is designed to completely drain roads within three hours of rain.

Dr. Muizzu condemned those responsible for the ‘uncivilised’ act of damaging panel boards and cutting off the electricity supply to some of the pump stations.

Meanwhile, the military has been dispatched to help drain the floodwaters. Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)'s spokesperson Ibrahim Azim shared that MNDF officers have been working to drain the roads since Tuesday morning.

The heavy monsoon rains are expected to continue across central and southern Maldives over the next 24 hours, according to Maldives Meteorological Service (MET). While the National Disaster Management Centre has revealed that it has not received any reports yet of damages caused to other islands, Male’ City experienced the most severe flooding in recent history over the past two days.