Commuters asked to be alert for flooding, flyaway trash on Sinamale’ Bridge

The police issued a road safety alert for the Sinamale’ Bridge and the Hulhumale’ Highway in the Maldivian capital on Sunday, as heavy rain causes widespread flooding.

In a post on X on Sunday evening, the police warned that both the bridge and highway are flooded, and urged commuters to also be alert for windblown trash.

The police urged commuters against travelling on motorbikes, and to use four-wheeled vehicles for essential trips.

Commuters have previously injured while travelling on the bridge in bad weather, with the road slippery due to rain.

Meteorological Service had issued an yellow alert for the area from Lh. Atoll to V. Atoll, effective from 05:30 pm to 09:30 pm. The office warns that the area will be affected by torrential rain and thunderstorms with gusts of 45 miles per hour.

The rain, which began lashing the Male’ area on Saturday night, continues well into Sunday evening. This has resulted in severe flooding.

Soldiers have been deployed across the country to dewater flooded streets and stack sand bags in entrances of buildings to prevent flood water from seeping in.

Maldives has been experiencing bad weather since last week, due to the onset of the Northeast Monsoon (Iruvai Monsoon).

The national weather forecast service said the bad weather has been exacerbated by a low-pressure area formed over the Arabian Sea.