Agios amvrosios: President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides made an appeal on Thursday evening to residents of communities affected by a wildfire which broke out early in the afternoon to evacuate their homes if requested. He was speaking from the crisis centre set up in Agios Amvrosios to coordinate the response to the fire in the mountainous area of Limassol and Paphos, noting that the primary concern is to avoid any loss of life. He also said that the State ‘will respond to the fullest extent’ for all material losses.
According to Cyprus News Agency, President Christodoulides stated that ‘situation is very difficult’ and that the front line where the firefighting forces are operating ‘is huge’. He mentioned that ‘all forces have been deployed, with more than 250 people currently operating, and personnel have arrived from Nicosia and Larnaca, as well as Limassol’. He emphasized that the primary concern is to avoid any loss of life and all efforts at the operations centre are focused on this.
The President noted that the weather conditions ‘unfortunately do not help the situation, but we hope that in the coming hours the situation will be more favourable. We hope that, according to the Meteorological Service, things will be better in the coming hours’. He stressed the importance of following evacuation instructions, saying, ‘I fully understand the issue of property, but people must follow the instructions of those who know better than all of us and move away from their homes’.
President Christodoulides acknowledged the destruction of significant property, assuring that ‘once we have assessed the situation, which is our top priority, the State will be here and will respond to the fullest extent possible for all these material losses’. In response to a question, he confirmed that Jordan has already offered assistance and noted that other neighbouring countries are expected to do so, with the relevant European mechanism activated immediately.