Male’ worst-hit in Tuesday’s heavy rainfall, with 89 millimeters

Records collected from automatic weather stations show the capital Male’ City experienced 89.4 millimeters of rainfall on Tuesday, making it the island which saw the heaviest rainfall, as torrential rain and thunderstorms caused flooding in a large part of the Maldives.

AA. Thoddoo saw the second heaviest rainfall with 70.6 millimeters, followed by Hulhumale’ with 63.4 millimeters.

Maldives experienced torrential rain over a large part of the country on Tuesday, resulting in flooding. In the Maldivian capital, Male’, nonstop rain resulted in severe flooding, damaging homes and disrupting transport.

An official from the Maldives Meteorological Service told PSM that the heavy rainfall seen on Tuesday was unusual for Male’.

He noted that in a city where even 40 millimeters of rainfall causes flooding, the 89 millimeters on had a severe impact.

“We saw a lot of rainfall in just a few hours. 80 millimeters in a short span of time – three hours – is a lot of rain even by Maldives’ standards. Given that Male’ is prone to flooding with just 40 or 45 millimeters of rainfall, 80 millimeters of rainfall is double that,” he said.

The official said that the Hulhangu Monsoon will last through December. He also said that the weather agency had forecasted that the country will experience heavier rainfall this year than usual.

“Not just for Maldives. Above normal rainfall is predicted for Sri Lanka, India and other parts of the entire South Asia,” he said.

Maldives Meteorological Service says that widespread rain with thunderstorms is expected to prevail over the country this week.

Following the severe flooding the previous day, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has declared Wednesday a public holiday. He has also appointed a special taskforce headed by he himself to monitor the situation and facilitate emergency response.