The Cyprus Civil Defence is ready for the summer season, said its Spokesman Panayiotis Liasides. Speaking to CNA, he noted that the ‘Polyvios’ Plan for community evacuations in the event of a fire has been updated, exercises were held in May in the five districts, while the CY-Alert early warning system will launch next week.
Liasides also referred to the Cyprus Regional Aerial Firefighting Station (CRAFS) in Paphos that will operate this year, noting that it will be a great help not only for Cyprus but also for the neighboring countries.
Regarding the preparedness of the Civil Defence in the event of fire, Liasides, said that the "Polyvios" Plan has been updated, which concerns the evacuation of communities in the event of a fire.
He said that the Civil Defence visited all the communities and discussed with the Community Councils to determine the needs of each community.
"The local authorities are now fully informed about how to act, how to help the residents in case of need. There is a plan for each community, maps, lists of people who may have some needs, the coordination team, the first aid team, a list of the resources that each community has, such as vehicles, etc."
Liasides said five exercises were held in May, one in each district, while five more exercises are planned in June.
"The goal is to see how coordination works when we have more incidents, not just in one district, and to familiarize citizens with the procedures," he pointed out.
Referring to the CY-Alert population early warning system, he said it will give real-time information on emergencies and natural disasters and will start on Tuesday.
"For three weeks we will use it to send alerts for educational purposes and for exercise purposes. It is an additional important tool for better informing the population in addition to the other tools that already exist," he said.
Regarding the emergency number 112, he said that in 2027 a new advanced technology will be installed to make calls more efficient, saying that it will include many details, such as location of the caller. This, he said, helps a lot because someone may not be able to speak at that particular moment.
Regarding the Cyprus Regional Aerial Firefighting Station, Liasides said that it will operate this year at the air base in Paphos.
"We will have support from the EU, which will be a great help not only for Cyprus but also for the neighboring countries. The EU will be able to respond to requests from countries in the Middle East and the Mediterranean," he said.
Liasides added that the station will also operate as a Centre of Excellence where exercises and training will be held on air firefighting and civil protection issues "for the better preparation of both the services and colleagues from the neighboring countries."
Asked when the station will operate, he said that it is already in the final stage.
Source: CNA
