Video was recorded yesterday.

A hailstorm and severe thunderstorm hit several parts of Malta and Gozo this morning, causing some localised flooding and power cuts, but no serious damage was reported.

The police for some time advised motorists to avoid the Kirkop tunnels because of flooding. There was also some flooding in the entrance to the airport.

In Gozo, rescuers of the Civil Protection Department assisted some motorists whose cars had stalled. A wall collapsed in Xaghra.

Heavy rain was reported in areas such as Mgarr (Malta) Manikata, Mellieha, Siggiewi, Mqabba and most of Gozo. In roads around Siggiewi and Zebbug, water reportedly mixed with sewage and the torrent was strong enough to lift manhole covers.

But it did not rain everywhere and firemen even had to content with a grass fire, in Pembroke,

Some humour on facebook after the MIA entrance flooding this morning.

Enemalta said the unusual weather conditions had affected parts of both the high voltage and low voltage networks especially where overhead lines were involved. The affected localities included Siġġiewi, Rabat, Dingli, Żebbuġ, St Paul’s Bay, Xemxija, Mistra and Selmun.

"Such repair works poses a challenge to Enemalta employees and electricity supply can only be restored once it is safe for employees to reach overhead lines without any danger," the corporation said.

"Once the bad weather has cleared, Enemalta will immediately dispatch its employees to continue repairs and to restore electricity in the shortest time possible."

The last time it rained during August was in 2006, when about eight millimetres fell on the ninth day of the month.

The average rainfall for this month is 7.1mm but there have been exceptions, with the most notable being in 1964 when 155mm of rain was recorded.

Last year, 42.4mm of rain fell on Monday, September 3, causing havoc in areas prone to flooding such as Qormi and Birkirkara.

A 39-year-old man died after being struck by lightning while hunting in a field in Marsascala.

Though rainfall during last year’s storm was not exceptionally high, a 34-year-old woman nearly lost her life after her car was dragged into a service tunnel at the Santa Venera tunnels exit.

Another man suffered a similar fate but managed to pull himself to safety after being swept a considerable distance inside the tunnel.

The Transport Ministry failed to respond to questions when asked if necessary precautions had been taken to prevent similar flooding through the maintenance of culverts and water courses.

Times of Malta visited the same spot in Santa Venera. The service tunnel entrance was open due to maintenance works being carried out on the other side of the underground passageway, which ends in Qormi.

Sources said last year’s flooding was mainly caused when the Qormi exit was blocked by cars and other objects swept by the currents.

“One hopes the authorities are now fully aware of the situation and have taken steps to avoid the story repeating itself,” the source said.