Updated 12.50pm and 2.55pm. 

A tree along Żejtun’s Tal-Barrani road snapped in half following strong rain and wind on Sunday morning, smashing a bus' windscreen and forcing the temporary closure of two lanes of traffic.

Northbound lanes heading to Santa Luċija were closed off after the tree fell at around 11am, a police spokesperson said.

Branches from the tree fell onto a passing bus, shattering part of its windscreen. 

However, nobody was injured in the incident, which also caused bricks from a boundary wall to spill onto the thoroughfare.

Passengers who were aboard the bus at the time were collected by another bus dispatched to the area by Malta Public Transport. 

Civil Protection Department officials were called to the site to clear the area and allow traffic flows to resume.

A bus that was passing through the road at the time ended up with a smashed windscreen. Photo: Jonathan BorgA bus that was passing through the road at the time ended up with a smashed windscreen. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Later on Sunday afternoon, the government's cleaning and maintenance division said that its officials were on-site to help clear the debris and reopen the road to vehicles. 

A police spokesperson said that there had been no other reports of damage as of 12pm.

Meteorologists expect Sunday to be a wet, windy and thundery day, with showers extending through to Wednesday.

The Malta International Airport’s weather station has issued a yellow alert valid until 8pm on Sunday, warning that the western northwest wind will be strong throughout the day.

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