Maldives Capital Braces for More Heavy Rains

Residents of capital Male’ braced for a fresh rain spell on Monday, two weeks after heavy rains flooded large parts of the capital, damaging several homes.

Storm clouds have gathered over Male’ since early Monday with intermittent showers, with Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) warning that the weather is expected to worsen after sunset.

The cyclone, which has formed in the southwest of the Bay of Bengal, is now moving west of the island nation, with heavy rains expected late Monday continuing till Tuesday morning, MET Office said.

Wind speeds are also expected to pick up followed by rough seas during the storm.

The MET Office has said the bad weather spell is expected to continue until Wednesday.

The Male’ City Council has mobilised efforts to put up sandbags in dozens of houses most vulnerable to flood damage.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has placed sandbags in 56 homes expected to be affected by rain floods.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has also been deployed to drain possible flooding ahead of the storm concentrating efforts primarily in the west of the capital.