Torrential rain that hit the Maltese islands in the past hours has led to floods in several parts of Malta, resulting in heavy traffic congestion.
Drivers on Friday morning are reporting a complete gridlock on the roads, with several of them switching off their engines after being stuck in the same spot for several minutes.
One driver reported that it is practically impossible to get out of the south through Marsa while a similar situation is developing on the north side of the Regional Road.
Many are venting their frustration at the comments made recently that traffic problems are just a "perception".
"This problem is real in Malta," one driver commented. "And it's worse each time it rains."
Rain fell heavily on Thursday evening, with drivers reported roads were flooded in Msida, Birkirkara, St Julian's, Marsa, Swieqi, Lija, Qormi, Siggiewi and Santa Venera, where the tunnels were flooded.
This inevitably led to cars stopping as their engines were flooded, and long traffic jams as drivers were unable to continue with their journey.
A wall collapsed just after drivers exit the Santa Venera tunnel direction Marsa on the left hand side of the road, Maltese Roads Traffic Updates reported.
Civil Protection Department personnel were called to assist drivers who were caught in the storm in Msida, Marsa and Santa Venera.
The rain continued to fall heavily earlier this morning, at a time when people started their journeys to work and to take children to school.
Traffic is at a standstill in several notorious areas, and the low-lying roads are flooded.
The police said Thursday evening however that no major incidents were reported.
On Wednesday, The Malta Independent reported the possibility of heavy rains between Thursday and Friday. The storms developed on the Balearics and moved towards Sardinia and later to the southern part of Italy, including Sicily, before reaching Malta.
In a statement issued on Friday evening, almost 12 hours after the storm had subsided, the government said that Works Department and Trabsport Malta employees were involved in urgent repair work of the roads, including the cleaning of culverts and rebuilding of a wall, while some traffic lights system that were damaged were replaced.
The government said that debris carried by the waters was limited.
While saying that it was conscious of the traffic problems, the Transport Ministry saud that the problem is "real" - as against the perception comment made by a government official a few weeks ago - because the number of cars is on the increase. The country's infrastructure is not built to deal with so much traffic in spite of the investment made.
The government said that "no extensive" problems occurred in areas where the flood relief project has been completed, such as Wormi, Zabbar, Marsascala, Zebbug and Marsa. The section of the project concerning Birkirkara and Msida will be finished by the end of the year.
Photos Maltese Roads Traffic Updates