Bad weather causes ship to run aground

BAD weather yesterday caused a ship to run aground off Limassol while two airplanes were diverted from Larnaca airport to Paphos because the runway was flooded from torrential rain.

Strong waves forced the merchant ship Lisa Star to run aground just off the Limassol coast though no injuries were reported among its12 crew.

Many of the town’s areas were left without electricity yesterday morning after power lines were cut by falling trees and other objects blown away by the strong winds.

Power lines in the Ayia Phyla area were cut after the collapse of scaffolding at the construction site of an electricity authority building.

Falling trees blocked the Limassol to Fasouri road for an hour while traffic problems were experienced in the district’s mountain region from falling rocks.

The fire service scrambled in numerous occasions to pump water from flooded dwellings as well as to free stranded drivers.

A similar situation was encountered by Larnaca fire fighters, while power cuts were experienced at the villages of Kiti, Tersephanou and Lefkara.

The two planes that were diverted to Paphos later returned to Larnaca as conditions improved.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.