Programme to prevent further flooding in Larnaca’s Kamares

By Angelos Anastasiou

The government has approved €60,000 to commission a study on flood prevention in Kamares, Larnaca, Interior minister Sokratis Hasikos announced on Tuesday, noting that anti-flooding infrastructure will cost a total €3 million.

Hasikos chaired a meeting on addressing natural disasters in the Larnaca district, attended by the mayors of Larnaca and Aradippou, the district officers of Nicosia and Larnaca, and government department representatives.

In a statement after the meeting, the Interior ministry said the “government must be proactive, and we must not wait for damages and disasters before deciding, planning and taking measures”.

“Therefore, in order to avoid incidents such as those seen in Larnaca last winter, resulting in floods and damage worth millions of euros, we have assigned a special committee to prepare a conclusive plan on the way we can resolve the problem of flooding in Larnaca, and more specifically the Kamares area, once and for all,” the statement read.

It added that “to this end, we have already approved a €60,000 budget for the studies, while the entire project is expected to cost approximately €3 million”.

“We will propose that the cabinet approves this expenditure, even in tranches, so that we can avoid future disasters caused by a lack of appropriate infrastructure,” Hasikos said.

Last winter, Larnaca was severely hit by floods after Cyprus saw unusually heavy rainfall resulting in social cost, including people forced out of their flooded homes, in addition to economic losses.

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.