Residents and businessmen of Ayia Napa and Paralimni are measuring their wounds after the unprecedented rains that caused the floods on Friday night and Saturday. The Fire Service responded to more than 200 calls for help due to the heavy rainfall which mainly involved burst storm drains, flooded roads, flooded properties as well as civilian rescues and vehicle towing.
In total the Fire Service responded to 70 vehicle tows. In one case, members rescued a woman from her home in rushing waters, and approximately 42 other people were rescued from their vehicles that were trapped in flooded roads.
See the report of the Famagusta.News journalist and Sigma correspondent in Famagusta about the floods and the statements of businessmen who saw their properties destroyed:
Dangerous and inaccessible roads
Due to the bad weather and heavy rainfall, roads in Protaras, Paralimni and Ayia Napa have been declared impassable and dangerous due to the heavy rainfall, with the Police issuing relevant notices to the public.
Part of the fencing of the Ayia Napa stadium collapsed
From early on Saturday morning, members of the Police, Fire Brigade, Civil Defense and local authorities were running and literally could not respond to the repeated calls, while even today the crews of the Municipalities are on their feet in order to assist in the restoration of the road network. In a photo circulating on the internet, it appears that part of the fencing of the Ayia Napa stadium has collapsed due to the rushing waters.
Immediate response from Nouri and Pirillis
The Mayor of Paralimni from very early in the morning was on site in order to ascertain the damage and coordinate the situation, while the response of the Minister of the Interior was also immediate, who went to the area and inspected the situation and presided over an emergency meeting at the Paralimni City Hall with all services involved. Both the Minister of the Interior and the Mayor of Paralimni spoke of unprecedented rainfall due to extreme weather events.
Again… yellow warning
In the meantime, a low pressure system, centered south-southwest of the island, will continue to affect the area until Monday evening.
Therefore, the Cyprus Meteorological Service has issued a new yellow warning for rain and isolated storms, the Meteorological Department issued on Sunday.
The warning came into effect from 08:00 this morning and will last until 08:00 tomorrow, Monday.
According to the Department of Meteorology, rains and isolated storms are expected to affect mainly northern and eastern areas of the island.
The total rainfall may locally exceed 55 millimeters per twenty-four hours.