Final Hazards Report

Malta has recently been having many droughts and is becoming a very frequent hazard. Malta has experienced a number of flash floods in recent years, during which time intense rainfall has caused surface runoff to flow within urban areas.  Flooding problems as a result of uncontrolled street surface runoff occur in the urbanized areas of various basins of the Maltese Islands. The flash flooding usually occurs in the lower parts of these catchments, as a result of heavy storms which cause a reactivation of the valley channel leading to uncontrolled street surface runoff passing through the low lying urbanized areas.
Geological map of Malta and location of the boulder deposits ...
Flooding from coastal waters usually results in the formation of puddles of seawater along some of the roads that are located directly at the water’s edge. Seawater flooding is rather uncommon in Malta but can sometimes occur where there is a combination of high tide and heavy rainfall or as a result of atmospheric gravity waves. The consequences resulting from each flood event were classified either as traffic disruption, damage to infrastructure, fatalities, and damage to private property. Flooding occurs due to rainfall and thus tends to be most severe during the autumn and winter months. In all cases flooding occurred in urban areas as a result of uncontrolled street surface runoff following intense rainfall events. I am addressing this as the priority hazard because it is the one that is much more likely to occur in Malta. 


I would recommend taking action when a flood warning is issued, the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. We should always be prepared by creating a communications plan, assemble an emergency kit, sign up for notifications, prepare your Family/Pets, charge your essential electronics, and in the worst-case scenario, leave. If the flood is already happening, I suggest you try to stay informed by listening to the radio regarding any updates, getting to higher ground, obeying evacuation orders, and simply avoiding the water. 

Malta Floods Sept 2012 #2 - YouTube
The places un Malta that are much more prone to being flooded are Msida, Birkirkara, Balzan, Gżira, Qormi, Marsa, Żebbuġ, Marsascala and Żabbar. These areas have become exposed to more frequent and intense flash floods leading to greater health hazards, damage to private property, and public infrastructure. These places experience more intense rainfall, leading to flash floods that damage private and public property and put lives at risk. 


Malta is actually said to be one of the safest places on earth except when winter comes around and the rain is heavy. The safest place in Malta to construct my house would be anywhere on the island that is located on higher grounds and not in any of the places I listed above which are the areas that are the most affected during floods. During winter it pours and that is why floods are the biggest hazards prone to Malta. It is best to build a house at the top of a mountain, that way you're least likely to be affected by the flood. Another good choice, if I were to live in an apartment complex in Malta, I would get an apartment on the highest floor. 
References:
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/maltas-natural-hazard-preparedness-questioned.672880
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/major/malta/fighting-floods-in-malta
https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-before
https://europa.eu/investeu/projects/flood-prevention-lasts_en

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 26, 2020 at 10:51 AM

    Hello Jocelyn,
    Interesting post, I was curies as to why rain and flooding would be the main natural hazard apart from the frequency, and thought that perhaps the island was missing something that would help suck up some of the rain water. I look at a satellite image and noticed that almost the entirety of the island is either populated or agricultural land. I did not see much forested areas, it turns out that there is 1% of forested area in the island. I'm not sure if there where ever any forest, but perhaps reforestation might offer Malta a bit of protection. You are definitely right about not building in the low laying regions, although had we all the money in the world and chose to live in Malta we'd probably build a summer house by the beach and during the autumn and winter months we could build another house on the highlands near the highest pick the plateau Ta' Zuta.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 26, 2020 at 5:07 PM

    Hi Jocelyn. I really enjoyed your post about Malta. My uncle's family is from there and many of them still live there. Unfortunately, Barbados (the country I researched) suffers from flooding as well, but for different reasons. While Malta seems to suffer from flooding during the winter months as they don't have proper runoff systems in urban areas, Barbados' issues arise from climate change. The summer months are extremely hot and dry and the rains that come later are too fast and furious for the dry land to absorb it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ana GGMay 29, 2020 at 9:05 AM

    Thank you for taking this class with us. I hope you enjoyed while learning about natural hazards in the world and Malta (I know I did)!

    ReplyDelete

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