Eight motorists had to be rescued by the Civil Protection Department yesterday morning as force eight south westerly winds and sudden outbursts of rain hit the country, leaving a trail of destruction.

Nobody was injured however as the 32 personnel on duty at the CPD dashed from one rescue operation to the other to try and contain the damage.

Zurrieq boatmen seemed to be worse off, as they woke to find their craft smashed to bits by the sea, which had engulfed the area where they are usually kept on land when not in use.

Despite the rain early yesterday morning, motorists decided to make their way through areas prone to flooding, such as Birkirkara and Msida, according to a spokesman for the Civil Protection Department.

In fact, CPD personnel had to intervene to assist motorists in Msida, as they were on their way to switch on the storm water alarm in the morning.

Six people had to be extracted out of their cars as a sudden outburst of rain turned Msida into a swift flowing river. In Balzan, residents had to alert the CPD at 7 a.m. that two people were trapped inside their vehicle as a result of the water currents.

"Unfortunately, we still see motorists who persist in driving in areas notorious for flooding, irrespective of the potential danger," the spokesman said.

The CPD was however relieved to note that the new water culverts in Qormi relieved the area from its usual heavy flooding. Last year, several residents sustained thousands of liri in damage after torrential rains wreaked destruction.

Zurrieq boat owners got a nasty surprise when they found their boats battered against the rocks at Wied Iz-Zurrieq, where they usually ferry tourists to the Blue Grotto for sight seeing.

A restaurant owner in the area said that some 15 boats, most costing in the region of Lm700 each, and owned by fishermen and the pleasure trip operators, were actually on shore but were swept away into the sea by the huge waves which swept the area. A restaurant at Wied Iz-Zurrieq also sustained damages.

The same fate also visited a number of leisure boats and a cabin cruiser at Mgarr Harbour in Gozo.

"In 40 years at sea, I've never seen the winds whip up such waves at Mgarr," one Gozitan fisherman said.

In what could have been a catastrophic incident, a large piece of the rock-face crashed into the sea in the vicinity of Ghar Hasan, brought down by the pounding waves.

An AFM spokesman said that the rock, some 50 metres in diameter, was carved away from the land, early in the morning, probably as a result of the huge waves, each of which would have sent tens of tons of seawater smashing into the rock face. Luckily, there were no persons in the vicinity.

Back on land, Maltacom cables came crashing onto the road near Burmarrad valley, while an electricity pole near the Luqa primary school was damaged.

Several trees were uprooted in different parts of the country, including Ghaxaq, Qala and Ta' Qali.

The CPD had to intervene after a tree was torn down at the Marsa Sports Ground and lodged itself in one of the main water culverts, which if left unattended to would have exacerbated the flooding problem in the area.

Thousands were frustrated when they found out that the Gozo ferry service was suspended because of the rough sea.

A huge funnel cloud formed on Saturday morning at around 10.30 close to Nadur.

Malta Weather Services, which offers weather data and forecasts on-line said the funnel cloud was caused by unstable weather which made its way to the central Mediterranean.

A Meteorological Office forecaster said that the isolated showers and strong wind currents were expected to prevail throughout today.

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