Flood in Villingili disrupts sewage system

A Councilor from the Gaafu Alifu Villingili Island Council has said that flooding in the island caused water to enter 69 homes and damaged the sewage system causing sewage to spill on to the streets.

A large portion of the island is experiencing floods due to the non-stop torrential rain on the island since yesterday.

President of the Gaafu Alifu Villingili Island Council, Niyaz Nizar told Sun Media today that the flood in the island has caused the sewage system to fail, resulting in sewage leaking and entering homes. Councilman Nizar said that some people are being relocated from their homes due to excessive sewage uprising from the toilets.

“The island is in poor condition, sewage has leaked on to the roads, some houses don’t have toilet facilities, and what can we do with sewage in the homes?” President of the Gaafu Alifu Villingili Island Council, Niyaz Nizar said.

He said that the 69 houses that got flooded sustained property damage and damages to food supplies.

There are 484 residential homes in Villingili which serves a population of 3620.

Gaafu Alifu Villingili Island Council is working with MNDF to reroute the water to the ocean from four areas of the island using six water pumps. To resolve the sewage leaks, pumps are being used at sewage junctions to reroute it to the ocean.

Villingili Island Council said that the Island Hospital is working with Red Crescent to bleach the roads due to fear of a disease breakout due to the sewage leak.

MET Office estimates non-stop rain in the southern atolls in the next 24 hours as well.