Filenews 28 July 2025 - by Ioanna Mantziapa
The landscape that one sees in the fire-stricken areas of the Limassol district stabs the heart. The images are reminiscent of a bombed landscape. Houses burned, trees uprooted, souls crushed. And yet, through the ashes and burns, humanity and solidarity were reborn.
Organized groups, volunteers from all over Cyprus and ordinary people sacrificed their weekend to help the affected communities. They cleaned roads and areas around the villages, offering not only their time but also their hands and soul.
On Saturday morning, a group of young people and members of the AEL and Apollon clubs went to Vouni and helped residents clean up the community. At the same time, citizens offered generators so that there would be electricity until the electricity supply was restored.
In addition to the Civil Defense and the Red Cross distributing basic necessities, organized groups and ordinary people, it also transported food to those affected by the deadly fire. It should be noted that, due to the emotional mobilization of the people, all needs have been overreached, resulting in no longer available spaces for storing additional items.
A similar picture was seen in Lofou, where a group of 100 volunteers was found on Sunday and with the necessary equipment, helped to clean up the core of the village and the northern area where the biggest disasters occurred. Among them were about 30 people from Russia and Israel, who organized into groups and worked to remove burnt objects.
The head of the community of Lofos, Yiannis Neophytou, visibly moved, told "F": "What we experienced from the volunteers these days cannot be described. Despite the fact that water was limited, a huge effort was made. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts."
Families who lost everything
Among the most tragic stories, that of Mr. Nikos in Lofou stands out. A father of two, he saw his house completely destroyed. As he complains, he was trapped with his family in the village, without anyone being able to help them escape from the fiery hell. They were left without shelter, clothes and basic items.
In Koilani, the family of Mr. Elias – a father of many children – is also trying to get back on its feet. "With a thousand deprivations, five years ago, we managed to build a small permanent home for our family," she says with tears. Their house was completely burned down. With him, memories, objects, dreams were lost. "We took out a loan to build it... And now we're starting from scratch again," he says devastated.
However, humanity was not lost. Volunteers and fellow villagers stood by them, offering clothes, food and temporary shelter. "Two small trucks full of clothes arrived within two days," Mr. Ilias describes with emotion. The most touching moment came when the eldest son of the family, searching among the burned rubble, found their baptismal crosses in the ashes. A small miracle in the midst of absolute destruction.
The recording of damages continues – In Souni, the biggest disaster
The recording of the damages continued throughout the weekend by 18 crews of the District Administration. As of yesterday, 237 homes have been registered, of which about half have been completely destroyed.
The largest disaster is recorded in Souni with 95 houses, in Agios Therapontas with 35, in Lofou with 24 and in Vouni with 23. Many houses in Souni are luxurious, while in the rest of the villages they are mainly old preserved houses.
In addition, 124 cars and 49 other vehicles and structures (caravans, warehouses, etc.) were destroyed. The number is expected to increase, as many residences have not yet been declared.
The recording, as we were informed by the District Administration, will continue today with the aim of completing it before Wednesday.
EAC on foot for the restoration of electricity
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus is in full mobilization, operating day and night in the fire-affected areas of the Limassol district, with the aim of immediately restoring the electricity network.
The damage to the grid is enormous: Piles, cables and transformers have been completely destroyed in many communities. However, the presence of EAC is intense and continuous, with dozens of crews working non-stop, under extreme weather conditions, high temperatures and in dangerous, inaccessible areas.
It is characteristic that over the weekend alone, more than 170 workers — technicians, engineers, operators — were recruited to rush to the burned villages to help restore electricity.
EAC has set up a special coordination centre in Vasa, which functions as an operational hub for monitoring and guiding any technical intervention.
At the same time, seven self-propelled generators have already been installed and are operating in affected communities, offering temporary coverage of their energy needs until the grid is fully restored.
