By Evie Andreou
All families affected by the weekend’s flood will be given €300 aid to cover basic needs the mayors of Aradippou and Larnaca announced on Tuesday.
Four days after the catastrophic storm that flooded the Kamares area of Larnaca and some areas of Aradippou, district and municipal crews assisted by the army and volunteers were on Tuesday still trying to clean streets and houses with the goal of getting all families who had to flee back home for Christmas.
“It seems however, that more hands are needed so there is a thought to employ unemployed people to help restore the damage,” Larnaca mayor Andreas Louroudjiatis said.
He added that his municipality will also rent 20 cars and give them to families whose cars have been destroyed to facilitate them until state aid arrives.
CyBC reported that after the retreat of the river water, erosion seems to threaten the foundations of some houses and that engineers were expected to evaluate the situation.
Interior minister Socratis Hasikos had said on Sunday that the state would compensate everyone whose property has been damaged by the flood before Christmas.
Deputy Larnaca district officer Odysseas Hadjistephanou said crews of the district office are recording the damage caused to every affected house while officers are evaluating data collected since Sunday to prepare a report that will be sent to the interior ministry as soon as possible.
Damage recording was to be completed by Tuesday afternoon, Hadjistephanou said.
Hasikos added that aid will also be given to residents of Kokkinotrimithia whose houses or shops were flooded during the storms that swept Nicosia early last week.
He said a meeting is to take place at his ministry on Wednesday with everyone involved, the Larnaca and Aradippou municipalities, district office, civil defence, and services of other ministries to discuss immediate measures that need to be taken to prevent such a phenomenon from recurring.
“The first decision will be the cleanup of the river so that water flows unobstructed and second, we have to build walls to avoid the possibility of overflow in the near future,” Hasikos said.
He added that these are quick fix solutions, until a discussion and investigation is made to find the exact causes that will lead to the solution of the problem once and for all.
In the case it is deemed necessary parliament will unanimously vote any complementary budget needed to secure the funds to compensate those affected, House president Yiannakis Omirou said during his visit in the area on Tuesday.
“Lessons should be learned; the town planning and planning regulations should respect the laws of nature because nature is relentless and revenges. Let this be a message to all of us, to all competent authorities and to any person responsible so that there is respect for the laws and rules of nature,” he added.
