The Civil Protection Department rescued at least 15 people caught in dangerous situations after Thursday’s floods, CPD director Emanuel Psaila said.
After a month’s worth of rain came down over the island and streets became overrun with floodwater, motorists got trapped in their vehicles with cars being submerged and even swept away.
Despite the authorities becoming overwhelmed at points, and with images of dramatic property damage like collapsed walls and flooded basements doing the rounds on social media, no fatalities were reported.
On Friday, certain parts of Malta, like Attard and Ta’ Qali, seemed to continue retaining large amounts of water, with fields still visibly flooded throughout the day.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Psaila said that, despite the flurry of activity from his department, it had not been the worst storm he’s seen Malta weather during his time.
“Most of our operations were focused mainly on helping people who became trapped in their cars,” he said. “Then, when things settled down, we were called in to help to deal with flooding.
As the fire engines come equipped with powerful pumps, we can help in basements or factories where a very large and possibly dangerous amount of water has settled.
“But we have seen worse storms than this. There were a few instances in the 2000s and late 1990s where we had similar and more destructive flooding in the country before flood relief systems were introduced,” he added.
Asked how officers felt at the prospect of having to put themselves in dangerous situations, Psaila replied: “It’s our job.”
“Of course, there’s always some level of fear, you are risking your life, after all and we are only human. But we have trained for this and we are not going to jump into the water without the right equipment.”
At a point on Thursday, CPD officers found themselves in difficulty while trying to rescue an elderly man who got caught in the flooding in Burmarrad and having to call in the AFM for assistance.
While an officer was waist-deep and wading towards the man, waters began to rise and caused the man and his van to move with the currents.
“Even we can sometimes find ourselves in a difficult situation, as yesterday’s[Thursday’s] events have shown us, but that’s what I expect from my people, to give their all,” Psaila continued.
He urged people to be cautious when dealing with extreme weather.
“If you see that the water levels are rising, try to stay put and hold on to a secure place until help arrives,” he said. “And if you see the weather is unmanageable, do your best to stay home.”