(YouTube video by Darren Sciberras)

An electricity pole in the road leading from the Excelsior to the Phoenicia in Floriana fell victim to strong winds and collapsed on a car this morning but there were, fortunately, no more serious consequences.

The road was closed while Enemalta personnel removed the pole and any other danger

More weather damage was reported throughout the day keeping the Civil Protection Department employees, who kept receiving calls for assistance abnormally busy.

Two flights, Ryanair’s from Dublin and EasyJet’s from Gatwick, had to be diverted.

Ryanair’s flight, scheduled to land as 12.05 p.m., was diverted to Trapani and arrived back in Malta at 4.05 p.m. while EasyJet’s, which was scheduled to land at 11.40 p.m. was diverted to Palermo and was back in Malta at 3.30 p.m.

Enemalta said in a statement later in the day that the excessive gale-force wind caused a disruption in the provision of energy supplies to areas in Bidnija and parts of Burmarrad.

At around 11.51 a.m., a fault developed on a high tension overhead line which goes from Burmarrad to Bidnija.

Enemalta's workers restored the supply of electricity in most parts of Burmarrad but a small part of the hamlet, as well as the Bidnija area, were still without an electricity supply.

Several other flights were delayed.way of sourcing the consumers apart from this overhead line, together with the danger posed by the excessive wind force, which made it impossible for workers to work on it, the suppsly could not be restored right away and was likely to be prolonged until tomorrow.

The corporation said that once the winds calmed down and work was again possible, its technicians would restore supply.

The winds also damaged the Hagar Qim canopy. Although the damage was not serious according to initial reports, it is still being assessed.

A number of people in cars were stuck in water catchment areas, particularly Msida and Birkirkara. A warning asking people to avoid such areas was issued by the Civil Protection Department in the afternoon.

The department said that its rescuers were currently working in several zones removing vehicles caught in the waters and other materials the wind blew to the roads.

Works on Castille's facade in Valletta were also hampered when the winds took off a cloth covering the scaffolding.

During a court sitting in the morning, a window broke inside a court room, causing slight alarm amongst those present. No one was injured.

And cleaning staff at Mater Dei Hospital had to work harder to clean the substantial amount of water that made its way to the hospital.

Fortunately, no one was injured when a wall collapsed in an alley in Main Street, Balzan just before 4 p.m.

The damage was not just limited to Malta. A tree in Victoria survived the elements through the years but this morning's winds proved to be too much. A number of other trees fell victims to the wind and a woman was slightly injured in Rabat when a tree collapsed onto her car.

And commuters on the Gozo Ferry crossing this afternoon did not have an easy, as can be seen from the photo submitted by Ivan Vella.