During February 2023 Malta experienced STORM HELIOS which was set to hit the Maltese Islands late Wednesday 8th February as a depression that was located over Algeria moved across to Libya and made its way towards the central Mediterranean.
From the early hours of Thursday until Thursday night, Force 7 Easterly winds where in force and ready to blow across the Maltese Islands, with gusts reaching up to 45 knots. Thursday’s strong winds whipped very rough high seas. The public was advised to avoid coastal areas due to the possibility of flooding with heavy thunderstorms
The Meteorological Office, in fact, issued orange warnings for rain and wind.
Lots of damage was reported including at the Grand Harbour as per below –
Damage at St. Lazarus Bastion Boathouses (Better known as Taht iz-Ziemel)
Moving ahead was the Gozo Fast Ferry Terminal which was totally destructive. With service launched in 2021 both Terminals in Valletta and in Mġarr, Gozo, costed a total of €2.5 million.
The terminals were installed with ticketing booths, emergency equipment, a marshalling zone, as well as sheltered waiting areas and public toilets but most of the paneling inside had been destroyed and the electrical panels destroyed.
The High Speed Craft HSC ARTEMIS which was berthed at Wine Wharf, part of Valletta Cruise Port had mooring ropes snapped and damage was done at her aft.
Then at Grand Harbour Marina (GHM) a small pontoon adjacent to Pontoon C was seen capsized –
In Kalkara, a section of a historic boundary wall along the coast beneath Heritage Malta’s headquarters collapsed into the sea.
Thankfully, just one person was reported hurt, when a false ceiling at the VIP lounge at Malta International Airport partially collapsed onto a man of which he was only slightly injured.
