A technical problem and a delayed emergency notification marred the first major real-world test of Cyprus' CY Alert warning system, as a wildfire in Agia Anna, Larnaca district, threatened residential areas and residents awaited timely information.
Despite extensive publicity surrounding the system's capabilities, the alert did not reach all recipients in time, while Civil Defence says it is still unable to explain precisely what caused the delay.
Speaking on Politis Radio 107.6 & 97.6 during the programme Proini Epitheorisi with Katerina Eliadi, Civil Defence spokesperson Panayiotis Liasidis acknowledged that a problem occurred during the notification process and said the incident would be examined by the system's technical team.
Liasidis explained that CY Alert is transmitted to mobile phone users whose devices are connected to transmitters covering a specific geographical area.
"If some people did not receive it, it may have been because they did not have signal at that particular moment," he said, noting that alerts are broadcast to all users within the coverage area of the relevant transmitters.
Response began earlier
Asked about the delay in sending the message, Liasidis said efforts to protect residents had begun earlier and that Civil Defence had been in direct contact with the community leaders of Agia Anna and Psevdas.
According to him, the need for a wider warning emerged between 3pm and 3.30pm, when the wildfire expanded and began threatening inhabited areas.
"We were in direct communication with the community leaders and initiated the necessary procedures. We had already deployed personnel, as foreseen in the emergency plans. The problem concerned the alert notification itself," he said.
When asked to identify the nature of the technical failure, Liasidis said this had not yet been established.
"The technical team will examine it and it will certainly be evaluated. We will investigate what went wrong and try to ensure it does not happen again."
He added that a second alert message was later sent informing residents that they could not yet return to their homes, despite the fire having been brought under control.
Large-scale operation
Liasidis said approximately 42 Civil Defence personnel and 15 vehicles were involved in the operation, while additional staff worked from command centres.
Civil Defence teams were deployed in Agia Anna and Psevdas, while a reception centre was established in Kiti.
The organisation also activated its Larnaca Regional Office to support teams on the ground, while additional personnel staffed the coordination centre in Nicosia.
"All these functions operated normally," he said, indicating that the problem was confined to the CY Alert notification process.
He stressed that the system falls under Civil Defence's responsibility and said the results of the technical investigation would be made public to establish exactly what caused the delay.
Questions over previous motorway incident
During the interview, questions were also raised about the failure to use CY Alert during the recent incident involving an overturned lorry on the Nicosia-Limassol motorway, which caused hours of disruption and long traffic queues.
Liasidis said that, in that case, a request should have been submitted by the Police or Traffic Department to Civil Defence for an alert to be issued.
He added that, following the incident, authorities decided to prepare a special protocol for prolonged motorway closures, defining the responsibilities and actions of the services involved.
He also clarified that CY Alert is not restricted for financial reasons.
"It is not a question of cost. The state can use the system as often as necessary," he said.
Concluding, the Civil Defence spokesperson acknowledged that the issue arose during the first substantial activation of the system under genuine emergency conditions and assured the public that measures would be taken to prevent a similar occurrence.
"A problem occurred. We will examine what happened, identify solutions and make sure we do not face it again," he said.
