د . إAEDSRر . س

WATCH: Malta’s Coastal Clubs Picking Up The Pieces After Devastating Storm Damages

Article Featured Image

Last weekend’s powerful medicane wreaked destruction all over the islands, with pretty much every local industry getting hit in some way.

Malta’s entertainment industry is one such industry, with some of the most popular seaside clubs sustaining some serious damage in the gale force winds, and some of them are expected to be out of action for the next few weeks.

However, club owners are already working hard to get their clubs back up and running, removing the seaweed, awrat and even some stray iPhones from their dance-floors ahead of the weekend.

Beachaven, Xemxija

Being situated in the same bay as the Biblical fish rush that has already defined 2019, Beachaven was right at the forefront of the chaos.

“Sunday morning, I realised that the windows of the club had cracked,” Simon Cutajar, a manager of the family-run club, told Lovin Malta. “After a while, the windows completely broke, and the waves started coming in.”

52835883 1007924429396104 4626645037332037632 N
53463514 674495419635727 4358765624978046976 N

The waves brought along tons of debris, damaging part of the club’s sound system

52840202 388045845355299 6970285261989085184 N

“The club was full of seaweed, fish, jellyfish and rocks. Certain equipment got damaged, but we managed to save a lot of stuff”

Of course, they’ve had to cancel a planned party for this Saturday, but are hoping to be up and back at it within two weeks.

Beachaven features an upper area and lower deck, with the lower deck sustaining even more damage

“The lido downstairs was worse off – we lost all of the fridges and freezers,” Simon noted.

Even though the dance-floor was full of seaweed and jellyfish, Simon still said the weirdest thing that got dragged into the club was a boxed iPhone.

53143425 2236620989929362 1398733744361177088 N

Maori, Valletta

In recent years, Maori had suffered extensive damages in previous storms, including a recent gale which had ravaged the area (and the club) just ahead of Carnival celebrations. This time, owner Simone Falzon was prepared.

The preparation paid dividends – Maori withstood most of the battering, though it did sustain some damage.

“We arrived here to get everything sorted with the help of a friend and three men,” Simone told Lovin Malta, who also cares for a number of animals on site.

“I’m hands-on in this kind of weather, and I try to be prepared, so I just made sure everything was sorted by Saturday 4pm,” she said. “I collected my animals, turned my main off and went home, hoping the stray cats, duck and cockerel were safe.”

She returned after the storm to assess the damage.

Untitled Design 2019 02 26 T180141 509

“The flag pole was bending dangerously, and water had made it inside, coming through the doors and ventilation. Luckily, the building is very strong. The pallets and wood were all over the place though, with lots of stones in the terrace as well.”

“The facade got a good beating,” she continued, “but all in all, I was lucky as we had prepared. This is the second time we’ve faced a severe storm since I’ve been running Maori.”

“It is still a shocking sight, yet with this storm, I almost knew what to expect.”

Tag someone who loves these clubs

READ NEXT: Where’s The Club? Zion Owners Explain Why Popular Marsascala Hangout Suddenly Disappeared From Face Of The Island

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

You may also love

View All