Storm Harry battered Malta over the past week with heavy winds and significant rain, leaving an impact in several popular areas - but also significantly impacting life in Gozo.

As a result of the storm, the ferry service between Gozo and Malta was stopped on Monday before then being restarted early on Wednesday - only to then be suspended again a couple of hours later.  The service only fully returned to normal on Friday.

Meanwhile the Gozo Fast Ferry was suspended for an indefinite period of time due to damage sustained at Ta' Liesse in Valletta, where the ferry departs Malta from.

This left the island in a difficult position: cargo shipments were delayed, travel times became much longer when the ferry was running, and three schools in Malta had to be closed during the storm due to a significant amount of staff being stuck in Gozo.

Perhaps unsurprisingly this has re-ignited the long-time debate on whether a permanent link between Malta and Gozo is required.

The Labour Party had pledged to build the long-awaited tunnel between the two islands, but the plans have been shelved at least for now.  But the Gozo Business Chamber said in a statement that "the past few days have continued to show how accessibility remains at the core of Gozo's present and future."

"Nonetheless the adverse weather conditions have also shown Gozo's dependency on one mode of transport which has seen Gozo cut out completely from the rest of the world," the chamber said. "People were stranded, and flights and appointments were missed because our sole mode of transport between the two islands could not operate."

The chamber thus called for the discussion of the permanent link between the two islands to be reconsidered. 

The Gozo Tourism Association meanwhile was perhaps more out there with its proposed solution, as it said that a permanent air link between Gozo and Malta could have significantly reduced the disruption experienced during the storm.

In a statement, the GTA argued that an alternative mode of inter-island connectivity, specifically a fixed-wing air service linking Gozo with Malta International Airport, would have mitigated inconvenience to residents and prevented the loss of bednights from foreign visitors. According to the association, such an air link would act as a critical infrastructural safeguard during periods of adverse sea conditions.

It sounds good on paper, but one finds it difficult to believe that a small fixed-wing aircraft would have been able to safely operate in winds which were gusting at somewhere in the region of 100km/h and which even impacted the commercial airliners arriving at the Malta International Airport.

Regardless though, both entities are correct in saying that Storm Harry exposed a significant shortcoming in Gozo's dependence on Malta.

Even if a tunnel were to be built, this would take years - if not decades - to complete.  Extreme weather events like Storm Harry and perhaps worse are not going to wait for any tunnel to be built - meaning that there needs to be action now to address situations where Gozo may well end up cut off from the mainland for a period of time.

In an age where we are seeing more and more extreme weather due to climate change, it is integral that we start thinking of how self-sustaining Gozo - and indeed Malta - can be.