A Sliema woman who woke up to find water pouring from her walls and her home's basement level completely flooded on Monday has blamed works on a nearby square for the damage.  

The 80-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, lives in Annunciation square, where major embellishment works by the Transport Ministry are ongoing. 

Works on the project began in June but came to a standstill shortly after the discovery of a WWII air raid shelter on-site, which saw plans having to shift to accommodate the preservation of the unique find. 

While works have since resumed and appear to be in a more advanced stage, the woman told Times of Malta that she was living in a "nightmare" situation since October 3, when the first heavy rain descended over Malta and the basement level of her home was flooded with several inches of water. 

Weeks of anxiety and stress

But the worst was yet to come. On Monday morning, the woman woke up to find roughly 10 inches of water in her home, following a particularly heavy bout of rain. 

“It’s absolutely disastrous and absolutely related to the ongoing works in Aunniciation square,” she said. 

“I have been living this saga since October 3, It has caused me so much anxiety and stress, not to mention the ongoing damage to my home.” 

In a video posted to Facebook by the woman’s brother, the floor of her living quarters, which happen to be in the basement of the home, appears covered with several inches of murky grey water and debris. 

The camera then pans to show water coming out of spaces in between the bricks of the walls of the room, which appear stained by water damage. 

A view of some of the masonry left exposed outside the woman's residence

“While it might be the basement level, it’s not a dark unused room. I have my kitchen and dining area here, it is essentially a living space,” the woman said. 

“My knees are wobbly and I’m exhausted at having to deal with this situation. I was promised the issues causing this would be addressed but it keeps happening. There is no way to control it from my end.” 

The woman said that a similar flooding situation around two weeks ago had taken roughly three hours to clean up. 

'Why were July and August wasted?'

She believes that had crucial work on the square been done in the summer months, much of this hardship end could have been avoided. 

“This project is a disgrace. Why were the months of July and August wasted? Sluggish work or none at all took place during that period,” she added.

“One would have expected a serious commitment to it and having as many workmen as needed to get on with the project at a steady pace. There were days when there were only two or three workmen and several days when there were none at all.”

“Now we are experiencing the heavy rains one expects to have at this time of the year. Too much rain is absorbed in the unpaved area. This could have been avoided if the work was done regularly from mid-June to mid-September.”

“Now the situation is unbearable. It has caused enough hardship, great worry and damage to my property. It is having a negative impact on my health too. I have a constant backache following the unnecessary chores to get rid of the water. I cannot take it anymore.”