Three hours to control Fuvahmulah wetlands fire resulting in significant damage

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) states the fire which broke out at the wetlands area of Funaadu district in Fuvahmulah City on Saturday night was brought under control after approximately three hours.

The fire was reported to MNDF at approximately 10:35pm last night.

MNDF said Fuvahmulah Fire Station firefighters who attended to the scene upon receiving the report were able to bring the fire under control at approximately 1:25am early Sunday morning.

Speaking with Sun regarding the incident on Sunday, North East Fuvahmulah councilor Abdulla Nasir Ahmed detailed that the majority of the wetlands area, which caught on fire, had burned down in the incident.

Nasir added that no one was injured in the incident nor was any house damaged.

However, he said the cause of the fire remains unclear at the moment.

This latest incident follows a series of fires in Fuvahmulah’s wetlands:  

• In September 2025, a fire in the Hoadhandu wetlands burned about 10 percent of the area, reportedly caused by a discarded cigarette, according to Mayor Ismail Rafeeq.  
• In the same month, another fire broke out in the Dhandimagu wetlands (Dhandimagu Kulhi), which had already been set ablaze multiple times that year. Local officials suspected deliberate arson.  

Fuvahmulah’s wetlands, including Hoadhandu, Dhandimagu, and Funaadu, are among the Maldives’ most ecologically significant areas, but remain vulnerable to repeated fire incidents.