SEVERE weather swept across the island yesterday claiming the lives of two people, one of whom was hit by lightning in Nicosia and the second when his car plunged down a four-metre precipice near Paphos.
From morning torrential rain accompanied by hail and lightning, strong winds and even snowstorms in the Troodos mountains, swept across Cyprus leaving roads and buildings flooded, rivers overflowing, boats literally thrown into the sea, and a loss of electricity supply in some areas.
Athaniasios-Yiannakis Christoudias, a 24 year-old from Ayia Marinouda near Paphos, died in a road accident after he lost control of his car and went over the guard rail, falling into a precipice four metres down.
He sustained serious injuries and was taken to Paphos General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Police cited speeding and bad weather as the main causes of the accident.
Earlier in the day a foreign worker was struck dead by lightning while at work collecting herbs in the fields in the buffer zone around Avlona-Akakio at 10:20am.
With bad weather conditions and thick fog in the area, a colleague saw the man fall to the ground after an intense flash of lightning and called for help. Other colleagues and their employer took the man to the Nicosia General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The Paphos area was particularly badly hit by storms and extreme conditions yesterday. Torrents hit the Latchi Harbour resulting in two landed boats being hurled into the sea.
Local resident Phillip Neville reported that the river – which had been a dry river bed for the last several years – broke its banks, flooding the entrance to Latchi.
“Parked boats rose up and started floating in over two feet of water,” he said, while the main Polis – Podomi Bridge was also flooded and the road closed with “water rushing down the Droushia Hills,” Neville said. He added that the Gaga Dam was now full, and that the extra water was being pumped out into another dam.
In Yeroskipou, where there are currently shops being built and roadworks taking place, the village square was flooded. Further up the mountains, in Stavros tis Psokas passengers were trapped in their car in the snow, while 14 students were stuck inside their school in Lemithou due to heavy snow. Police came to the rescue, and passengers and students were reported to have arrived at their homes safely.
Limassol experienced a smattering of torrential hailstorms but there were no reports of injury or damage, according to the police and fire services there.
Chief of Police for Morphou, Gavriel Gavriel advised all drivers to exercise extreme caution, to drive slowly and to keep a safe distance from other cars and drivers. The conditions on the roads are dangerous he said, and especially so at higher altitudes where there has also been a lot of snow.
SIDEBAR
Rainfall good news but strategy still needed for water management
ACCORDING to Loizos Stephanou, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Services, the severe weather seen yesterday is not atypical for Cyprus, for this time of year, but because it has not rained in so long, he said, and all the conditions hit at once, it felt more unusual relative to the mild winter we have had so far.
Compared to last year’s rainfall and water reserves, things are certainly looking more positive for the island this year, he added.
The average rainfall for February from the 1st to the 26th of the month is at 102 per cent normal levels, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by the Meteorological Services, while the total average for the month until February 26 was 83mm.
At a workshop yesterday on ‘Climate Change and Agriculture,’ organised by the Ministry of Agriculture in Nicosia, the Director of the Meteorological Services Kyriacos Theofilou, said that last year’s rainfall was the second worst ever after since the 1972-73 period. Rainfall last year was only 50 per cent of normal, he said. Responding to concerns about the ongoing drought, he said that we could not expect continuous rain in Cyprus, and were facing a downward trend in rainfall on the island, even though this year was better than last year.
At the same conference Executive Engineer at the Water Development Department Haris Omorfos said the water management situation was expected to deteriorate due to the impact of climate change, and the availability of water would become even more critical.
Omorfos expressed the need for an integrated approach to the pending crisis that would incorporate legal, institutional, technical and financial measures. He ended saying that Cyprus is invited to reassess the situation and develop its own National Strategy.
The Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal by the Agriculture Minister for the creation of a new mobile desalination unit followed by a permanent one that would produce up to 50,000 cubic metres of water daily.
Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis proposed signing a contract with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) first for the creation of a mobile desalination unit with a capacity to produce 20,000 cubic metres of water daily, followed by a permanent, larger unit later.
The mobile unit will be completed and ready to start in 35 weeks. Eighteen months later, the permanent unit will be ready to take over the mantle.
As part of the government’s efforts to end Cyprus’ independence on rainfall, the Cabinet also approved the expansion of the mobile unit in Paphos to increase production from 20,000 cubic metres of water per day to 30,000, said the Minister.
A decision on how far to continue with water cuts will be taken near the end of March, after appraising reservoir levels, he added.
FORECAST
The forecast for the days ahead promises brighter weather for the three-day weekend. After a chilly night with temperatures as low as 4C inland and 7-10C in coastal areas and zero with frost in the mountains, today should see intervals of sunshine amid more rain and possible local storms. Snow and sleet may fall on the mountains, but temperatures will rise to 16C inland, 17 on the coast and 7C on higher ground. Saturday’s forecast is much the same, with little change in temperatures, but by Sunday the skies will be mostly clear. For anyone looking forward to a traditional picnic on Green Monday, the weather promises to be mostly clear, with temperatures on the rise.
CLOSED ROADS:
Police announced that the Korakou-Evrichou bypass was closed to cars due to the flooding from the river. Use of the Nicosia-Akakio motorway was declared dangerous due to the extreme weather conditions, while most roads to Troodos were closed due to icy conditions and the following roads remained open only for vehicles with four-wheel drive or equipped with snow-chains:
Kalopanayiotis-Moutoulla
Pedoulla-Prodromos
Pedoulla-Pinewood
Pedoulla-Kykkos
Kykkos-Kambos
Kambos-Orkonta
Kakopetrias-Karvouna
