Photo: Windfinder

Police officers on Sunday morning took note of at least 35 damaged vehicles parked in Ċirkewwa during a patrol of the area following a night of near-gale force winds that battered the island.

A police spokesperson said the damage - which was also observed on buses - was not necessarily caused by the inclement weather conditions.

The observation was made by police officers who went to Ċirkewwa between 6am and 8am on Sunday accompanied by Civil Protection Department officers.

Undated footage shared on social media and doing the rounds on Whatsapp shows high tides at  Ċirkewwa, reportedly on Saturday night, while another undated video shows battered cars parked in the same locality.

The Meteorological Office warned of gale-force wind for the weekend on Friday.  

Undated footage shared on social media and doing the rounds on Whatsapp shows battered cars parked in Cirkewwa.

Another vehicle in St Paul's Bay had its windscreen and roof damaged by the lid of a water tank that possibly flew off some residential roof.

The incident was reported on Triq l-Imħar. 

In Birkirkara, another car was damaged when part of a wall fell onto the street in Triq in-Naxxar.

Undated footage shared on social media and doing the rounds on Whatsapp shows battered cars parked in Cirkewwa.

The damage to the Ford was reported sometime before midnight.

Enemalta and CPD also turned up on site to remove any dangerous debris or structures.

The police spokesperson said no injuries were reported throughout the night.

Gozo Ferry passengers meanwhile reported a power cut at the Ċirkewwa ferry terminal.

When Times of Malta visited the docks this morning, the power was still out in parts of the terminal. 

Early in the morning - just before 2am - a reader told Times of Malta that the wind had blown open the windows at the terminal.

An ensuing power cut left stranded passengers in the dark with no access to food or drink. 

"I arrived about 10.30pm on Saturday to be told the ferries were cancelled. The power went out just before midnight and the first ferry arrived at around 7am at which time the electricity was still off, apparently due to water ingress.

"This meant the escalator, lifts and doors at the top of the stairs did not work so access to the ferry was via the car ramp. Also, there was no water so toilets could not be flushed or hands washed."

Undated footage shared on social media and doing the rounds on Whatsapp shows battered cars parked in Cirkewwa.

When contacted, a Gozo Channel spokesperson confirmed "some damage" and a power cut at the terminal were caused by the bad weather. 

The ferry operator informed customers on Saturday night that trips were cancelled over bad weather.

Trips resumed on Sunday morning, with vessels taking the alternate, Comino route. The operator however warned passengers to expect delays.