THE WEEKEND’S heavy rainfall caused considerable damage to restaurants and shops in Latchi, after two streams flooded in the Polis Chrysochous region.
The streams dumped mud and litter on properties along the Latchi marina and beach.
Shops, restaurants and houses were flooded by the heavy rainfall while the road adjacent to the streams was partially eroded.
The fire department said that it had been called into action eight times on Saturday night, after people were trapped in their houses or cars.
Members of the public works department and the Paphos district administration visited the area yesterday, in an effort to clear up and record the damage.
The interior ministry indicated that it would compensate the owners who were affected by the flooding once an accurate assessment of the damage was reached.
Polis Chrysochous’ mayor, Angelos Odysseos said that investigations revealed that a re-design of the streams’ bridges was needed while the streams themselves needed to be widened in certain areas in order to avoid a repeat of the weekend’s overflow.
“Most importantly though, it is unacceptable that some people use the streams as dumping tips and this practice needs to stop,” said Odysseos, who added that even truck wheels from the quarry in nearby Androlikou were found floating in the water.
The lack of sewage and draining systems were also seen as contributing factors to the damage near the Latchi marina.
Works on such systems are expected to be carried out some time this year.
Meanwhile bad weather, with heavy rain and storms, is expected throughout the island for the rest of the week, with snow in Troodos until Thursday.
Meteorological service officer, Marios Theophilou said that there would be considerable snowfall on Troodos throughout the week, while less mountainous regions might also experience some snow.
In addition to rain, temperatures will be rooted between 5C and 8C, some three to four degrees below the usual January average, with sub-zero temperatures expected in Troodos.
Snow levels on Troodos have currently reached 35 millimetres and are expected to rise considerably during the week.
According to Theophilou, the rainfall figures since the start of the month were 58.2 millimetres, a figure that constitutes 57 per cent of the island’s needs.
Dam water levels have reached 41.7 per cent capacity, with approximately 5.9 million cubic metres of water entering in the dams since last Thursday.
The figure is just 300,000 cubic metres of water shy of last year’s figures for the same period.
According to the Meteorological service, a total of 19 million cubic metres of water entered the island’s dams since October 1.
Police reiterated their warnings yesterday for drivers to be vigilant when driving and that only cars fitted with snow chains should use the mountain roads towards Troodos.
