ROADS had turned into rivers with torrents up to 40cm high washing away cars and debris and sending residents in flood-hit villages to the upper stories of their homes.
Yesterday it was time to clean up.
The strong rainfall in a short, concentrated time period produced torrents up to 40cm high, which had shifted enough debris to block the central storm drain for the area in Pera Chorio. This blockage meant that the drain could not perform the task it was designed for and flooding of roads, houses and business premises resulted.
Residents said they had seen fridges, mattresses and couches blocking the central storm drain, and the mukhtar’s office in Nissou confirmed that these larger items were likely the biggest factor in causing the blockage to the pipeline on the day of the downpour.
Three days after torrential rains hit the island on Tuesday, a clear picture is beginning to emerge as to why flooding occurred in the area of Pera Chorio and Nissou. Also caught in the floods were the nearby villages of Alambra and Ayia Varvara.
“We had already noticed the problem of designated rubbish disposal areas.” said Poppy Costantinou, secretary to the Municipality in Alambra “And on a visit here two months or so ago by Minister for Communications and Works Mr Nicolaides, several areas had been designated for this purpose. But we did not manage to do them yet. The rains beat us to it.”
The torrents generated by the flood waters were so strong that they picked up cars parked near the bridge underpass on the approach to Alambra and carried them almost 200 meters to the entrance to the village. Outdoor furniture, gas bottles, building materials and, of course, the larger items such as sofas were all borne along by the flood waters.
“The lower floor was partially flooded, with some damage to walls and furnishings. No compensation has been offered yet.” said Loucas who had damage to his Alambra house typical of that reported by residents in the area who were affected. “We were working all night Tuesday, all day yesterday and since the morning today [Thursday].” commented Panayiotis who runs a satellite supply store in Ayia Varvara. “We cleaned the damage done ourselves, and had several transistors and other electrical devices destroyed by the rising waters. Who knows how much compensation they’ll offer though and, more importantly, when…”
In the Pera Chorio Nissou area there were four or five serious cases of flood damage where the houses in question were completely destroyed in terms of furnishings and interior rooms and a further 25-30 dwellings experienced “various damages”.
The general agreement amongst the municipal staff working in the areas affected by the flooding was that the central government’s response to the crisis was exemplary. “I wish to thank Mr Neoclis Sylikiotis personally for his immediate and perfect response and his excellent cooperation.” said Yiannakis Georgiou, Muktar of Nissou. Teams composed of men from the local municipalities, the civil defence force, the police and the fire brigade worked until 2:30am on Tuesday to clear the drains and continued through Wednesday and Thursday to clear mud from the streets and get clogged drains and pipelines in good working order again.
Some of the residents whose houses were damaged in the flooding were put up in hotels paid for by the state until the worst of it is over. Others stayed behind to clear and drain their own premises and try to get everything clean and livable once more. One such family, who were emptying their house of mud-covered clothes and furniture, when asked what the governmental response to the flooding had been, commented “Nobody has come to help us. We are left cleaning up the whole mess ourselves.”
“Only the minister came down” said Ellada Antoniou referring to Sylikiotis “To show his face on TV and say stupidities. Everybody’s got big words though, we want to see some action…”
Andreas Georgiou, secretary to the municipality of Ayia Varvara, said that he has been told that €500,000 had had been set aside for compensation in this instance, more if necessary. As regards when they will be distributed, that is still under discussion,
