11 homes uninhabitable in flood-hit Guraidhoo

Damage from extensive flooding due to torrential rain across central Maldives has rendered 11 homes in K. Guraidhoo uninhabitable.

Guraidhoo councilman Ibrahim Shazeel told Sun on Sunday that 25 homes reported damages due to flooding.

Shazeel said that 11 of the homes are currently uninhabitable, due to extensive damage to furniture and household appliances such as washing machine and refrigerator.

He said that the worst of the flooding took place overnight. And that more rain again in the morning worsened the situation.

Shazeel said that the people dug up a trench to have the floodwater seep out into the sea, after which the island managed to control flooding in two areas with assistance from the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).

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.

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.