Update 5: Heavy rain expected to persist throughout the night - Civil Protection

The Civil Protection Department this evening renewed its appeal for people to avoid flood-prone areas, saying that heavy rain is expected to persist in some areas throughout the night.

Hail stones the size of broad beans turned some fields in Gozo white this morning, while the Blue Lagoon became the Brown Lagoon, as the above pictures by Jason Attard show.

It rained hard for some three hours in Gozo, Comino and the North of Malta.A stone wall collapsed on an access road in Marfa which was taking traffic from Cirkewwa because of the closure of the main road for works.

Pieces of tarmac were pulled off the road surface near Ghajn Qaliet in Rabat. The road from Victoria to Marsalforn in Gozo was also damaged and some walls collapsed.

Just outside Mosta, a car was carried by rainwater and the driver was  rescued by rescuers from the Civil Protection Department. The vehicle ended up upside down near a bridge. The driver was checked at Mater Dei Hospital after having swallowed some water. (see video).

Some homes were reported flooded in Nigret and Bahrija.

Flooding was reported in Xlendi and in Marsalforn in Gozo. In  Marsalforn, a woman and two children were rescued from a car which was pushed towards the sea. Another man was rescued as he was carried away by a torrent of water and managed to hang on to an electricity pole. However other reports that a Jeep was seen in the sea proved to be false - although a helicopter was seen searching the area for some time.

Three men were reportedly rescued in Ramla Valley, where heavy damage was also reported to the fields.

Arriva said the bus service was suffering delays on most of the routes due to the heavy rainfall that has hit the Maltese Islands.

It said major problems had been faced in the Msida and Birkirkara area, severely affecting a number of routes.

Routes 41, 42, 43 are not driving through Valley Road because of heavy water displacement. These buses are being diverted through Hamrun until the situation clears.

Routes 12 and 13 are still driving through Msida but are experiencing heavy delays due to rainfall collecting in the area, causing heavy congestion. Civil protection officers are in the area monitoring the situation.

Delays are also being experienced in Rabat due to heavy waters at the Nigret area, the company said.

Meanwhile, some houses were reported flooded in the Nigret and Bahrija areas of Rabat this morning.

A number of schools also reported low attendance because of the rain.

The CPD warning was the third today after another two warnings this morning - which led some people not to send their children to school.

Foreign meteorological stations this morning also reported that heavy rainfall was  heading Malta's way.

http://www.meteoweb.eu/2011/11/forti-temporali-in-tunisia-e-nel-canale-di-sicilia-allerta-massima-per-malta/100472/