Marsascala residents pitch in to help with Storm Harry clean-up

A group of Marsascala residents came together to help stricken businesses along the town's shoreline clean up the aftermath of Storm Harry. 

The clean-up operation in Marsascala was in full swing on Wednesday morning, as teams of workers from the Cleansing Division used shovels and brooms to sweep up the mud and debris brought ashore by Tuesday's waves, which slammed into shop fronts and restaurants. Heavy machinery was used to clear the bulkier refuse. 

Meanwhile, workers at the various bars, restaurants, cafés and shops along the seafront were busy mopping up the storm water that had entered every corner of their premises, while counting the cost of one of the worst storms in recent years.

On Tuesday evening, resident Ruth Sawers sent a message to residents' groups, inviting volunteers to go down to the seafront with mops and buckets and lend a hand.

"There are a lot of people helping already, but not all the businesses have people, so we'll head there shortly and get some work done," Sawers said.

Volunteers joined shop workers and government personnel in the cleanup. (Jonathan Borg)

Martina Tomljanovic-Stivala, the owner of Coffee Circus, said all her appliances had been destroyed. 

"Just now I turned the electricity back on, and our coffee machine, which is the main thing that makes our business profitable, is not working. The fridges are gone, the freezers are gone. The bar inside is full of water. For a small business like ours, it's a big deal," she said while struggling to hold back tears.

Tomljanovic-Stivala described how she and her staff were at the café from 8am on Tuesday, struggling in vain to hold back the endless torrent of water that was rushing in.

Damaged boats on the hardstanding in Marsascala. (Jonathan Borg)

"It was just coming in and coming in. The doors couldn't hold the water. It was a disaster."

Practically all of the catering establishments that spoke to Times of Malta said their fridges and freezers were out of commission.

Christian Farrugia, who works at Frutti Di Mare restaurant, said he and the owners could not access the restaurant on Tuesday. 

"We're still figuring out what can be salvaged. We can't turn the electricity back on so this will take time," he said. 

Metal barriers and other debris from the ongoing embellishment works on the Marsascala promenade. Photo: Jonathan Borg

A common sentiment among business owners was that the effects of the storm were made worse by the fact that a stretch of the wall separating the sea from the street had been demolished as part of ongoing works on the promenade.

"It was certainly a factor that worked against us. There was nothing to stop the sea from coming in and dragging all the metal barriers and plant pots with it," Farrugia said.

Marsascala mayor Mario Calleja, who was touring the area to assess the damage, agreed that the situation might not have been so bad if there had been some form of protection.

"I can't comment too much on infrastructural works, but the work was moving along swiftly and was due to be completed in around six weeks," he added.

The mayor expressed solidarity with all business in the area, and said he was happy that the government had started talks to compensate businesses.

Waves crashed into the road from missing sections of the seawall. (Jonathan Borg)

Former mayor Charlo Mifsud, who was accompanying Calleja. said a breakwater should be built to avoid the same level of damage happening again.

While the storm has passed, the sea in the bay is still churning,  sending the occasional wave surging onto the road and hampering clean-up efforts.

Staff had a busy morning cleaning up after the storm, (Jonathan Borg)