The island’s perennial flooding problem will be “alleviated” next month when the nationwide rainwater relief project finally comes into operation, the government pledged yesterday.

The first autumn storm hit between Thursday evening and yesterday morning, flooding Msida and parts of Marsa. The rains caused tailbacks that stretched across the entire island and rescuers were required to assist motorists stranded in streams of water. One elderly man was in critical condition after he fell one storey trying to unclog his drains.

A government spokeswoman, however, told the Times of Malta that the situation would soon change for the better.

“The end of November should see the completion of works all the way up to Attard and near the Lija cemetery,” the spokeswoman said.

The €56 million network of subterranean tunnels, culverts and bridges has mostly been completed and the spokeswoman said that the finalised sections were working perfectly.

Localities such as Żebbuġ, Qormi and Żabbar, often plagued by flooding, had not flooded at all as the provisions set up there had coped well, she said.

Ramon Deguara, Cleansing Department director overseeing the project, said that much of the flooding had occurred as the culverts had been momentarily overwhelmed by the downpour.

“In a few minutes, once the large volumes of water passed through the system, it was clear. There were no blockages and it was working well,” he said.

The same, however, could not be said of Msida, where the all too familiar stream of water flooded the busy area.

The flood relief works are yet to be completed in the area surrounding Msida valley.

Meanwhile, 45 passengers missed their Air Malta flights because they were stuck in traffic, a spokesman for Air Malta said. The flight to Rome was delayed by an hour while the flight to Gatwick was set back by 45 minutes.

This must be the worst traffic I have ever experienced

“We waited as long as possible but the flights had to leave so as not to delay subsequent flights,” he said.

The heavy traffic infuriated motorists many of whom took to social media to voice their frustrations.

“This must be the worst traffic I have ever experienced before in my life. [Transport Minister] Joe Mizzi you are hopeless,” Steve Micallef, 51, wrote on Facebook, from his stationary car.

Opposition deputy leader Mario Demarco tweeted: “Today must be national glue day: everyone is stuck in traffic.”

The government spokeswoman meanwhile said the traffic problem should not be politicised. “Traffic havoc when a major storm hits the country the way it did today, has been happening for years... There’s no point in politicising the situation,” she said.

Asked what had caused the traffic, the spokeswoman said the same things were clogging roads as had happened in previous years.

Cars were swept away by the floods in Msida.

“Excessive cars on our roads, infrastructure which does not meet today’s demands, lack of discipline by drivers and so on,” she said.

In a statement transport shadow minister Marthese Portelli said that speaking about traffic did not mean that one was politicising the issue.

“It is the role of the policymaker to come up with concrete proposals and not to shy away from taking decisions,” she said.

It was clear, she added, that the island had reached saturation point.  It was time to draw up a proper Traffic Management Plan.

MP gets phone ticket – when car switched off

Nationalist MP Antoine Borg was handed a traffic infringement ticket yesterday for using his mobile phone while his car was switched off in gridlock.

Mr Borg uploaded a photo which he took showing the policeman fining him as traffic ground to a halt amid pouring rain. The police fined the MP on grounds that he was not in “full control of his vehicle”.

When contacted, Mr Borg said he had decided to switch off the engine after almost half an hour in idle traffic in Triq il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa, Luqa.

“I was calling someone because I was extremely late for an appointment. I could have been calling because I was late for a hospital appointment. I expect better from the police, especially in these circumstances,” he said.

Questions sent to the police about the merits of such fines were not answered by the time of writing. However, Mr Borg may actually walk away free as the fine also had the wrong date, September 2.