His floating coffins may have become the butt of everyone’s jokes but Qormi undertaker Carmelo Mifsud is hoping to have the last laugh as he holds the government responsible for his losses.
During Malta’s heaviest downpour in 70 years last week, the flood waters burst open Mr Mifsud’s massive warehouses and covered 12 cars and 800 coffins with muddy water. Some 31 coffins were carried out with the water, ending up as far as Marsa sports club.
“I’m still waiting for the surveyor to see how much money I lost,” he told The Times one week after the incident.
Originally, he had estimated his losses at more than €350,000. Following closer examination, he has watered down this figure to a more realistic €250,000 but this does not include extra labour costs he will incur to fix his cars and the electricity in his garages, he says.
It seems the month of the dead will take on a whole new meaning for Mr Mifsud who, instead of coordinating funerals, will focus his energies on bringing his ravished warehouses back to life.
But more importantly, he is planning to sue the government for damages, claiming that the incident could have been avoided had there been more openings in his road to help water flow onto the adjacent valley.
Originally Mr Mifsud directed his anger towards the Labour-led local council, saying he had warned the mayor time and again about the dangers of poor flood relief planning in the area. But the Qormi council last Tuesday shifted the blame onto the government, saying this had been a recurring problem since 1979 and although some work had been done, the problem had not gone away.
The council also expressed solidarity with the families and businesses that suffered damages and called on the government to shoulder their financial losses.
Mr Mifsud, who had to cancel some funerals or forward clients to rival undertakers, did not insure his imported coffins.