The long-forecast weekend storm seems to be over. It reached peaks not usually seen in Malta – covered the island with ice, for one thing, and wind at Force 11 are not usually experienced in Malta.
People have been saying it was unprecedented. We are not so sure: those of us who remember the Bush-Gorbachev summit storm in 1989, and the Kuncizzjoni one in 1988 would dispute that assertion. Those two storms certainly surpassed this weekend’s in vehemence and duration. We had another terrible one in 1979 when a number of people lost their lives because of strong floods.
People blame climate change but then we have always had terrible storms. Practically every village has its own story of churches, steeples, domes collapsing as a result of a storm.
This time round, there was an abundance of heroes and fortunately no victims.
Among the heroes, we would like to give pride of place to those who kept doing their duty even at the height of the storm: the airline pilots who we saw bringing their planes in to land in the face of the wind, the huge and heavy planes being twisted this way and that by the wind in the final seconds before they landed. And the Gozo Channel captains and crew who kept the service going when the sea was one ragged mess of waves.
And also obviously to the police and the Civil Protection who kept everybody safe and who were at hand to help clear the roads from fallen trees, and were of great help whenever people needed their assistance.
Are there any lessons to be had after this bad experience? In this case, the storm did not catch us unawares: it was announced days in advance and everybody could be prepared. It was also the right decision to call off the Malta Marathon for it could have been quite dangerous for the athletes and for everybody around.
Apart from the havoc caused inland, the scenes from the seaside were out of this world. This was not the first time a hurricane blew up in the Med and, to the surprise of all those who consider the Med as the place for sun and sea, it can be quite dangerous. But then people need only to look into the Acts of the Apostles to see the Med at its worst.
In the long term, we could look ahead at surrounding Malta with some sort of reef protection to break the enormous power of the sea pounding the St Julian’s, Sliema, St Paul’s Bay shores.
The enormous tower blocks on the Sliema front as well as elsewhere looked as solid after the storm as they looked before it but surely the owners of such real estate would have looked to see if any structural damage was caused. So too the owners of the properties from which people were saved.
And as far as is known, only one of the tens of tower cranes dotting our landscape came amiss. That is an achievement in itself.
Lastly, we cannot but smile at the fishes in the road episode and the scenes of people wading in (and also risking their lives) all for the sake of getting some fish for free. People will always be people.