Majority think Malta unprepared for natural disasters

Only 32% of Maltese think the national authorities are prepared to respond to natural disasters triggered by climate change while 44% think the EU is prepared.

In the wake of the “dramatic increase” in natural hazards such as wildfires, floods or droughts because of climate change, a Eurobarometer survey asked respondents in all EU member states to assess the preparedness of national and EU authorities.

The survey shows that 56% of Maltese think that their national authorities are not prepared for such an eventuality while 12% did not reply. As regards EU authorities the Maltese are a bit less sceptical with 42% saying that it is not prepared for this eventuality.

The survey shows that the Maltese are more sceptical of the preparedness of their national authorities to tackle natural disasters. In fact, 51% of all EU respondents believe that their national authorities are prepared for this eventuality. The same percentage of EU respondents believe that European authorities are also prepared.

The survey published in the past week is based on a survey conducted in October 2023.

Confidence in the ability of the Maltese authorities to tackle a natural disaster has dropped considerably from 48% in March 2023 to just 32% now.

The survey shows that the Maltese are among the most sceptical in the EU on the preparedness of their government to respond to a natural disaster. Only the Greeks (9%), the Latvians (26%) and the Cypriots (28%) were less confident in their government’s ability to tackle natural disasters. The Portuguese expressed the same level of confidence as the Maltese. In contrast 74% of Austrians believe that their government is prepared to respond to national calamities.

Although Maltese are largely sceptical on their country’s preparedness to respond to extreme weather, the country regularly assesses its exposure to flooding risks, which comes as a legal obligation of the EU’s floods directive.

The directive obliges Member States to create a Flood Risk Management Plan, identifying areas facing significant flood risk.

A document drawn up by the Energy and Water Agency presented last year had made several proposals to mitigate the impact of flooding while identifying communities which are most at risk. These included 563 Qormi residents and 491 people in Birkirkara who live in zones at the highest risk of flooding.

According to the report the inclusion of rainwater harvesting infrastructures in new developments could result in an annual water savings of approximately 70,000 cubic metres.

Unlike mainland Europe, where the major cause of flooding is overflowing rivers, Malta’s main problem is the location of most urban development in low-lying areas.

These low-lying areas often consist of dry valleys, which have been integrated into the urban fabric over time and now serve as main thoroughfares. When a storm event occurs, these paved dry valley beds act as conveyance channels for stormwater, which flows for only a short time before reaching the sea.