25 truckloads of waste and debris cleared from Marsascala after Storm Harry
The cleaning and maintenance division responded to 60 cases of fallen trees or branches and 25 instances of collapsed walls
Twenty-five truckloads of waste and debris were collected from Marsascala by the cleaning and maintenance division following the damage caused by Storm Harry, junior minister Glenn Bedingfield said.
The clean-up team collected 15 truckloads from the area around Triq ix-Xatt, with each truck carrying around 25 tonnes of debris, Bedingfield said in parliament on Wednesday. He added that they also collected another 10 truckloads from San Tumas.
The division has been focusing on areas worst hit by the storm, including Għar Lapsi, Xgħajra, St Julians, Sliema, Buġibba, Birżebbuġa, Xemxija, Għadira, and Marsaxlokk, he said. Once these efforts are completed, he added, the division will carry out a general clean-up across Malta.
The division had to attend to around 60 cases of fallen trees or branches blocking roads, 25 cases of collapsed walls, one animal carcass, boats washed ashore, collapsed bus shelters, and large amounts of debris, including banners, plastic, glass, and billboards, Bedingfield said.
Bedingfield spoke in parliament to defend his late arrival to the foreign affairs committee, explaining he had been out with the clean-up crew. Nationalist Party committee members Mario De Marco and Bernard Grech called his tardiness a “farce.”
On Wednesday morning, a group of Marsascala residents joined the clean-up operation, helping clear storm-damaged businesses along the town’s shoreline.
Gusts exceeding 100 kilometres per hour destroyed farms, beached fishing boats, and smashed seaside restaurants. The popular Għar Lapsi bay has been left unrecognisable.
Authorities said gale-force winds are expected next week, though they do not anticipate a storm of the same severity.