A worker at a Marsascala restaurant was seconds away from being crushed by a glass door that was blown off its hinges by waves caused by Storm Harry, dramatic CCTV footage reveals.
Footage sent to Times of Malta shows massive waves crashing into a seafront restaurant in Marsascala, bursting open doors and windows and destroying everything from furniture and supplies to lighting fixtures and soffits.
The restaurant, Il-Forn tal-Għawdxi, was among the worst hit in the area as storm Harry battered the islands for hours from Monday night.
One of the most dramatic videos from the restaurant’s CCTV cameras was recorded at 10pm on Monday, and shows a powerful wave bursting through the restaurant’s thick aluminium and glass door.
Even though the door looks barred from the inside with two large wine barrels, the surge of seawater can be seen obliterating the entrance, shearing the door clean off its hinges as it burst into the restaurant’s interior.
A restaurant employee who was standing behind the door on the inside, walked away less than 20 seconds before the waves burst it open.
Gordon Mizzi, one of the restaurant owners, told Times of Malta the door was even reinforced from the outside with wooden shutters and pallets, but the waves still tore through it.
The restaurant immediately sent all workers home to ensure their safety.
Waves bashing into restaurant
Other videos show waves bashing into the outer part of the restaurant, flooding the interior, sweeping tables, chairs, broken soffit parts and other furniture, and one video shows a flooded bar inside the restaurant.
Mizzi said the situation is so bad that he and his employees have not yet dared to set foot there, and they are only monitoring what is going remotely, through their CCTV cameras.
“We don’t even know for sure to what extent the place has been damaged, because it’s still too dangerous to go there now. And we probably won’t be able to go there before tomorrow,” he said.
“But from what we can see on our cameras, there are thousands of euros worth of damages.”
He said the storm seems to have destroyed most of the furniture, lighting and kitchen equipment, broke all seafront doors and windows and swept away several food and beverage supplies.
“At least nobody was hurt,” he said.
“We had already closed all our outlets since yesterday to ensure worker safety, and a small team sent to inspect the Marsascala branch yesterday was ordered to retreat after it became clear the building was no longer secure against the elements.”
An unusual storm
The very unusual storm that hit Malta on Monday and Tuesday cancelled ferry trips, diverted flights and tore down dozens of trees and shop fronts.
It hit especially hard around the south-eastern part of the islands, in seaside towns like Marsascala, Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa.
Many services were also cancelled, including bin collections and postal deliveries. Workers were urged to work from home and children were allowed to skip school. Some planes were forced to divert after being unable to land in high-speed winds.
By mid-morning on Tuesday, the Civil Protection Department had responded to more than 180 incidents, while the army was also called in to help vessels in rough seas.
Conditions are expected to ease throughout Tuesday, with the wind continuing to veer to the west-southwest and remain moderate to rather strong.