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WEATHER
Peter Valentino looks back at the north-easterly winds that hit Malta, the boat that caught fire in Kalkara and the lessons that should be learnt from these two disasters. On February 24, The Times of Malta ran a story with the headline ‘Destruction across Malta as gale-force winds batter islands’. The report stated that record gusts of up to 101 km/h left trees uprooted, walls toppled and seafronts flooded. What really interests the readers of this newspaper however are issues like the accuracy of weather forecasting, how badly the waves hit our shores, the toll on our marinas and the extent of damage which came as a result of the storm. Let’s start off with the weather forecast. The first warnings pivoted around long-term forecasts and these were clearly pronounced a week prior to when the storm struck. Over and above, shortly after, Transport Malta started to issue warnings and our Met Office strengthened their previous statements by giving more detailed forecasts. Now I have no doubt that every boat owner knows only too well that a North Easterly wind will very quickly be accompanied by large waves that will hit shore, rebound and create havoc to the point that you’re either forced to stay in the marina, or oblige to stay out if you happen to be out at sea because approaching any exposed harbour in such conditions may be detrimental. When, a few years back, it was announced that the wharf in Pieta was going to be turned into a marina, many frowned and serious doubts were shed as to how safe the place was during North Easterly winds. I too had my doubts, even though as a sailor I knew all too well that the worst of the waves hit the
