Filenews 27 November 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
Cyprus will be equipped with special rescue vehicles, coordination vehicles and specialized equipment will allow immediate mobilization and more effective intervention in seismic events.
For this purpose, our country has at its disposal a fund of €2.5 million. from the cross-border project "Epikendrosis" carried out in cooperation with Greece, which, according to the Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis, is implemented within the framework of the Interreg VI-A Greece-Cyprus 2021-2027 Programme, with the support of the European Regional Development Fund, and aims to adapt to climate change and prevent disaster risks.
According to the project announced yesterday, the Civil Defense Force will be supplied with a coordination vehicle which will have modern and specialized systems and applications, in order to function as a mobile command center with the possibility of operational support, even in an environment where telecommunications have collapsed. According to the general director of the Ministry of the Interior, Elikos Ilias, The project invests in both means and education. As he explained, three specialized workshops will be implemented on seismic disaster management, applying an educational methodology that promotes the exchange of experiences and know-how. As he mentioned, executives of the Fire Brigades of Cyprus and Greece will initially be trained and then will act as instructors for the programs that will take place in Cyprus and Crete.
Mr. Elikkos added that for Civil Defense, this training is of decisive importance. It improves coordination, enhances critical skills such as wreckage rescue and first aid, reduces response time, and strengthens the psychological resilience of our executives – life-saving factors in the first critical hours after a devastating earthquake. He also linked the project with the effort undertaken by the Christodoulidis government to upgrade the civil protection sector. The purpose of the transformation of the Ministry of Interior into the Ministry of Interior and Civil Protection and the concentration of state services under one roof is primarily the better organization and the optimal utilization of the available human and material resources, in order to strengthen our response to disaster incidents.
In his address, the Minister of Justice referred to the fact that Cyprus, like the entire Eastern Mediterranean, is located in one of the most seismic areas in Europe. "Recently we were shaken, he said, by a series of intense earthquakes, which were felt throughout Cyprus, fortunately, without significant damage. This makes it imperative to strengthen prevention, preparedness and effective crisis management. The "Epikendrosis" project comes to strengthen this effort through targeted actions, which include the supply of modern rescue, coordination and recovery vehicles, in order to ensure fast and effective mobilization in disasters", he concluded.
In his statement, the Chief Fire Marshal of the Fire Service, Nikos Longinos, stated that with this project, both the local operational capacity and our common cross-border readiness are strengthened. Both the high seismicity, he said, but also the frequent environmental changes in our region, require increased preparedness from our mechanisms, but also continuous adaptation to new forms of risks.
The announcement of the "Epikendrosis" program was attended by the Chief of the Hellenic Fire Brigade, Theodoros Vagias, and representatives from Crete, and other areas.
