Cyprus Mail 20 November 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou
Torrential rain and hail flooded roads in the Famagusta district on Thursday evening, damaging cars and crops and causing traffic chaos, as a stormy weather warning remained in place until Friday afternoon,
According to police, for about an hour from 7.30pm until 8.30pm, roads in Paralimni, Sotira and Deryneia, turned into torrents as the drainage wells could not cope with the volume of water.
Pavements in the area flooded and objects were swept away.
In Paralimni, the biggest problem was on 1st April and Griva Digeni Streets, where a road was blocked, causing a traffic jam.
The fire service responded with two flood response teams to five incidents involving flooded basements, a Sunday church school and a car repair shop where four vehicles were damaged.
Hail also damaged crops in the district.
In the Limassol, the fire service pumped water from five basements and three houses. The electrical appliances of an apartment were damaged, and a fallen tree had to be moved.
On Thursday, the met office issued a yellow alert, warning of isolated thunderstorms, heavy rain and the risk of hail.
The alert came in force from 4pm on Thursday and is in place until 4pm on Friday.
Temperatures are forecast to rise to 19C inland and at the coast and 10C in mountainous areas.
More rain and hail is expected for Saturday.
