Last year, the Maltese Islands experienced a number of tremors as a result of earthquakes around the Med. And while nothing major has happened to our islands as a result so far, these tremors have us wondering whether our rock could possibly be on the receiving end of some other natural disaster in the near (or distant) future.

If there were to be a tsunami, low-lying spots in Birzebbuga, Marsaxlokk, St Thomas Bay, Marsascala, Msida, Gzira, Salini, Xemxija and Mellieha will be mostly affected, as a geoscientific study shows, as reported by The Malta Independent. It was conducted by scientists from GNS Science in New Zealand together with the Marine Geology and Seafloor Surveying group within the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta.

“Our study demonstrates that there is a potential tsunami hazard for Malta. Future studies should focus on achieving a better understanding of the source mechanisms, for example by mapping and understanding submarine landslides around the Maltese Islands, and carrying out a probabilistic inundation hazard and risk assessment,” the scientists said, as reported by the Independent.

If a tsunami were to occur, the study showed that it would most likely happen on the eastern coastline of our islands, where most of the population and tourism areas are concentrated. Unfortunately, Malta’s tsunami history hasn’t been extensively recorded so it’s hard to identify a tsunami hazard without such data. The last notable one to hit Malta was over a 100 years ago in 1908 which was the result of an earthquake that hit Messina in Sicily, marking at 7.4 on the Richter scale. Waves crashed into Msida creek, causing flooding in shops and homes in the area. Thankfully though, no one was killed.

Sheesh...