Speaking to The Malta Independent, Resources and Infrastructure Ministry Policy coordinator Melvyn Mangion confirmed that the watercourses did their job and managed the floodwater coming from the higher planes with ease.

One of the foremen inspecting the site at Marsa told TMID that the water level was always very low and manageable. He said he remembers days in which the water used to spill over the boundaries of the watercourses and actually go over the bridges. Yesterday the water level never went beyond some 50cm, he said.

There were some minor flooding problems, however, down the hill from St Vincent De Paule residential home for the elderly, as work on a nearby channel in the vicinity still has to be completed.

Speaking to TMID, Mr Mangion said there were no reports of flooding lodged from areas where the work on the watercourses was carried out. “Actually, for the first time, we received calls from Qormi and Marsa residents congratulating the ministry for the good job.”

Other areas were not as problem-free. In fact Valley Road in Birkirkara and Msida, notorious for flooding, were inundated. On this point Mr Mangion said the ministry has commissioned studies to tackle the issue but added that the situation there is not at all simple and probably requires radical changes. The cause of the problem is synonymous with the name of the infamous road, he said, since building on the sides of a valley will inevitably create problems.

TMID contacted Civil Protection Department director Peter Cordina for comments regarding flooding in other areas. Mr Cordina confirmed that some six people had to be rescued from Valley Road yesterday evening as they were trapped in their cars, after they had foolishly decided to brave the current. Chunks of tarmac were stripped off the road by the current there.

There was also a car crash in Hal Far as a result of the slippery roads. However, the accident that could have had the most devastating consequence was the one in Santa Venera, where a truck crashed into a wall that collapsed onto a street four storeys below (story on page 1).