Gozo ferry service suspended, as Maltese islands grapple with gale-force winds

After the heavy rainfall on Saturday, the Maltese islands were hit by gale-force winds that brought the Gozo ferry operations to halt.

The Meteorological Office had issued an orange warning over the gale-force winds in exposed areas and the moderate to heavy rain that fell over the islands throughout the day.

The office had issued a strong warning to mariners for Valletta and Marsamxett harbours adding that in the 50 nautical miles radius of Malta, northeast winds would reach gale to severe gale force at times.

Several pictures of fallen trees sprouted all over social media, including in Iklin, Msida, Qormi and Sliema.

A tree fell down in Iklin (Photo: Facebook)

The road in Balluta was also closed off for traffic, after the winds pulled down scaffolding at a construction site.

Scaffolding in St Julian's was pulled down by the wind (Photo: Facebook)

Gozo Channel suspended the ferry service throughout the day, leading to heavy traffic at Cirkewwa and Mgarr.

The service returned back to normal later in the day, however, the company issued a notice at 5 pm saying that the service was suspended until further notice.