€340,000 spent in Larnaca and Aradippou to deal with floods

NEARLY €340,000 has been spent in Larnaca and Aradippou in a bid to alleviate problems caused by intense floods caused by heavy rainfall, it was announced on Wednesday.

Larnaca district officer Odyseas Hadjistefanou told reporters during a briefing that the severity of the floods that hit the town in 2014 occurred once every 200 years, while last year’s flood in Aradippou occurred once every 50 years.

Kamares area in Larnaca and Aradippou are usually more prone to flooding, he added and said after the severe consequences of the heavy rainfall in 2014 and 2016, a series of projects to combat the floods were decided upon.

“The government funded the projects undertaken by Larnaca and Aradippou municipalities and the sewerage board with €211,000.”

Another €128,000 came from the Larnaca district office funds, Hadjistefanou said.

According to Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras, works included cleaning drainage systems across various areas of town, marking gutters so they are noticeable in case they are covered by rainfall and regular maintenance works at all pumping stations of the sewerage board.

“The likelihood of flooding has only been reduced by 20 per cent,” he said.

The works took place in areas such as Kamares, Vergina and Terpsichoris street.

Other locations that pose risks of flooding are being mapped out, the mayor added, so necessary measures can be taken.

Vyras said the sewerage board was expected to call for tenders over pumping stations S8 and S9 in January, while in the following month, works for creating a small pumping station on Ellispontou street were going to be completed.

He called on residents to take proper care of their homes and take any possible pre-emptive measures so that heavy rainfall would be less likely to affect their property.

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