On Monday 4 November, local experts said that Cyprus is unable to cope with large-scale extreme weather events.
According to them, despite the assurances of the relevant services that they are ready to deal with floods, they are not in a position to deal with major natural disasters such as those that recently occurred in Spain. Incidentally, the Cypriot fire brigade now has only two motorised and two ordinary boats in its arsenal.
In this context, the Cypriot experts recalled the importance of the choice of location for the construction of new buildings. They noted that the Cyprus Water Authority has identified a number of locations on the island where there is a high risk of flooding in winter. These include:
- The beds of the Pedios, Klimou and Kalogiros rivers in Nicosia.
- Areas along the bed of the Garillis river and the western part of the old town of Limassol, where flooding occurs every year due to the old drainage system.
- Areas along the Limnarka riverbed, as well as Lemba and Mouttalos in Paphos.
- The Kamares area and the area along the Archangelos riverbed in Larnaca.
- Plots near Paralimni Lake in the Free areas of Famagusta.
It should be noted that in most cases, large accumulations of water during rainfall occur along river beds that dry up during the summer.
The Government of Cyprus is doing its utmost to prevent disasters, including preparing public services for various contingencies and forecasting natural disasters in a timely manner. Cyprus has developed a national plan 'Prometheus' in which the Fire Service, Civil Defence and the Cyprus Police are actively involved. The personnel of these agencies are being continuously trained and their equipment is being upgraded. In addition, many Cypriot towns are undergoing major flood prevention projects.