The country was yesterday surveying the damage caused by Monday's torrential rainfall which reached over 200mm in certain areas, bringing down boundary walls, tearing up roads and flooding properties.

The architects of the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure were out in force, working to remove any immediate dangers. Minor work would be done later, a spokesman for the ministry said.

They may have to review what they did yesterday during the day, in view of the violent rainstorm, fortunately not of Monday's duration, which hit Malta yesterday afternoon.

More rubble walls came down, and as usual in low-lying areas prone to flooding, motorists were stranded in stalled cars. The Civil Protection Department advised people to remain indoors whenever possible, and not go out unless urgently necessary.

The ministry spokesman said the two main sewage pumps at Marsa, which were under water and had stopped working on Monday, had been repaired. One of them was working normally by mid-morning yesterday.

The ministry, he said, had halted its programme of cleaning rural zones and industrial estates to deal with more pressing work.

Asked whether the accumulated rainwater had taken so long to clear because of blocked culverts, the spokesman said this was not the case as the culverts were cleaned regularly.

But Qormi mayor Roderick Galdes criticised the authorities for ignoring the council's pleas for trailers parked in the valley to be removed and the culverts cleaned.

The council had forewarned the authorities that a disaster like Monday's was likely to happen and had even held a news conference in a bid to create further pressure.

St Paul's Bay mayor Paul Bugeja said in a statement that most of the culverts in the locality had been blocked by rubbish bags taken out on Sunday night or early Monday morning, and swept away by the water.

The council pleaded with residents to take out their rubbish only shortly before collection time, saying that in bad weather they should not be taken out until any storm was over.

Blocked culverts were certainly not to blame at the Marsa Sports Club where the ditches had been cleaned up in good time. In spite of this, the club suffered extensive damage running into thousands of liri.

Chairman Tony Cilia Pisani said 13 tennis courts, including two clay courts, were buried under mud, sludge and rubble.

It would take two to three weeks at the very minimum to clean them up and return them to playing condition as all the cleaning work had to be done manually.

At least half the golf course, including the clubhouse, was also under water, mud, sludge and debris.

The electronic barrier system and netting had been destroyed and the watchmen's room at the entrance was pulled out of its place.

There were only traces of paths left, walls had toppled, and the former mini-golf area, which was being turfed, was full of debris.

Although it was not the first time that heavy rains had caused extensive damage at the club, the management had not expected it to be so bad this time, considering all the improvements they had carried out together with the government, Mr Cilia Pisani said.

The agricultural sector was also hard hit with many fields, especially in the north of the country, completely flooded.

Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino is giving an overview of the damage to the media this morning.

According to agriculture director general Tony Mifsud, the main problem was the soil carried away by water and the collapse of boundary walls. Some produce was also lost.

Some farmers in Burmarrad compared their damage to those they had suffered in the great storm of October, 1979.

Farmers suffering storm damage are as usual being invited to fill a form and apply for assistance at the department.