Weather worsens, MET issues Orange alert

The Maldives Meteorological Center (MET Office) has issued an orange alert effective from Haa Alifu atoll to Shaviyani atoll owing to worsening weather conditions.

MET issued the alert effective from 16:00hrs until 19:00hrs on Monday, and forecast heavy rain, strong winds, and thunder to the area.

The weather forecast authority had also issued a yellow alert from Haa Alifu to Alifu Dhaalu atolls effective from 15:00hrs until 19:00hrs on Monday, and forecast heavy rain, thunder along with wind speeds between 25 and 30 miles per hour, and gusts reaching to 50 miles per hour.

MET further forecast bad weather conditions throughout the current week and initially issued a white alert on Monday morning, which the authority changed to yellow for the northern atolls afterwards.

Several parts of the country experienced excessive rainfall on Sunday as well, with 62.0 milimeters of rainfall recorded for Alifu Dhaalu atoll Maamigili and 61.3 milimeters of rainfall in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll Kaadedhdhoo.

The weather forecast authority, along with the Maldives Police, MNDF, and other agencies, have warned the public about the worsening weather conditions and instructed them to take extreme caution.