Heavy rainfall causes flooding at airport

Heavy rainfall over the weekend caused flooding at the Maldives’ main airport and sewer overflows in the capital Malé.

Hassan Arif, the Maldives Airport Company Ltd.’s spokesman, said continuous rainfall on Friday and Saturday caused roofs to leak and drains to overflow at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

“We were able to unclog the drains and control the flooding in less than 15 minutes,” he said. “However, service was not interrupted and no property damage was incurred.”

The rainfall marks the onset of the southwest monsoon, which begins with heavy rain showers followed by months of blistering heat.