The bays on Malta’s main island open to the northeast and act as funnels to the sometimes forceful northeasterly winds. Sunday’s were particularly strong.

The same storm that had caused record gusts in Croatia and deaths in central Italy, piled the seas up into Malta’s harbours.

Scenes on this Mediterranean island turned biblical on Sunday as fish were thrown from the sea onto the land and picked up by the locals. This was not some supernatural event but the result of a straightforward winter storm.

In Luqa, inland from the capital, Valetta, the east-north-easterly wind gusted to over 90 kilometres per hour regularly from the start of Sunday until the evening. The same wind built up the waves, drove them into the many bays of Malta’s north coast, and fish caught up in the waves were thrown onto the road.

The stormy weather covered coastal roads with debris and uprooted many trees. Malta Public Transport said the storm had forced the closure of many roads and affected all bus routes.

Later on Sunday, it also announced that all routes to Sliema and St Julian’s, which are among the areas worst affected by the storm, had been suspended.

As for the fish … a free supper for many.