Extensive flooding in common parts, after maintenance work at a Pembroke complex stopped abruptly, barred over 30 families from accessing their apartments through the main doors.

Venting their anger and frustration about the “unbearable situation”, residents who spoke to the Times of Malta said that after several months of complaints about the maintenance works that had stopped, workers turned up on February 8 “dumping” soft stone chippings all over the area.

For some reason, however, the work was abandoned after just a couple of days, with heavy machinery and other equipment left on site.

Because of the torrential rain that battered the islands in the following days, the common area used by residents to reach their homes was soon flooded and blocked, they said.

It’s like trying to walk through quicksand

This forced them to gain access through their garages, a difficult feat for those with young children or elderly residents.

“The common parts are so badly flooded that walking through the mud would be almost impossible. It’s like trying to going through quicksand,” one exasperated resident lamented yesterday.

Pproblems at the complex situated close to the Institute of Tourism Studies building were first highlighted last June.

Read: Pembroke residents forced to live in a construction site as repair works left half-finished

Then, the residents threatened to take legal action against the government after maintenance works also stopped without notice and the site being left in a dangerous state.

Families had expressed concern that if the works were not carried out on time, flooding could cause extensive damage to the garages situated below street level.

Affected families in Pembroke are holding the Housing Authority responsible for any damage caused to their properties.

“This isn’t something that occurred overnight as we have been trying to draw the attention of the Housing Authority for almost a year now but to no avail,” one resident said.

“Apart from being unable to access our homes unless we go through the garages, we are also concerned about the damage that is being caused to our garages, which have also flooded,” the resident added, pointing out that the extent of the flooding was so bad the machinery left on site by the workers could not be removed.

The resident said the affected families were holding the Housing Authority responsible for any damage that their properties could suffer. They feared that if there was an emergency, they would not be able to evacuate the building in time.

Questions sent to the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry, which is responsible for the Housing Authority, remained unanswered by the time of writing.