A hall at Fort St Angelo that serves as a venue for conferences and receptions, was damaged during the weekend's storm, Heritage Malta said on Monday.

The Egmont Hall in Fort St Angelo suffered considerable damage, particularly to its roof. External information panels were also affected, the agency said.

The Egmont Hall served as a cinema and theatre for British troops when the fort was held by the British forces. It is now also promoted as a venue for wedding receptions, theatre productions and corporate events.

Read: Destruction across Malta as gale-force winds batter islands

Heritage Malta said Fort St Elmo, which bore the brunt of the storm, escaped without damage. The prehistoric temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, including the protective shelters, were also unharmed, but the Visitors' Centre suffered some external damage.   

Part of the boundary wall of the prehistoric site of Tas-Silġ in Marsaxlokk collapsed on Sunday while some damage was caused to one of the pavilions at St Paul’s Catacombs.

All Heritage Malta sites and museums are open to the public, some of them having been closed as a precaution on Sunday.

Watch: Before and after - how the storm swept businesses away

Undersea water main damaged, supply unaffected

Meanwhile, the Water Services Corporation said the storm had also damaged the undersea water main between Gozo and Malta.

The water supply to Gozo will not be interrupted, but the incident reinforced the need for Gozo to have an autonomous water supply, the corporation said.

Work on the building of a reverse osmosis plant at Ħondoq is well under way.

The damage to the main will be evaluated once the sea is calm.   

Attempts to tap European Solidarity Fund

Meanwhile, the government said it had been in touch with the European Commission to begin the process of tapping into the European Solidarity Fund.

All government departments have officially started with studies to evaluate the extent of all damages.

Contact was made with European Commissioners Corina Cretu and Christos Stylianides by the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Aaron Farrugia to inform them that such studies have started, and that Malta will be formally triggering the process of tapping into the fund.

Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola said the Maltese people were looking for tangible European solidarity after the worst storm in a generation devastated crops, destroyed businesses and damaged critical infrastructure.

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