Today’s storm could make this the rainiest August in Cyprus since records began in 1902, weather tracking page Kitasweather said, as the island recorded lightning injuries, one dead, sea rescues and hundreds of emergency calls.
Significant rain fell across almost the entire island, according to Kitasweather, with only the western part of Paphos district, roughly from the Akamas area southward to Paphos, spared. Rain also fell in the occupied north, though no measurements were available from there yet, the page said.
August is typically a dry month for Cyprus, and Kitasweather estimated that today’s rainfall alone could push the month’s rainfall total to more than 700% of the average.
One person died and five others were recovered after Cyprus activated its national Search and Rescue Plan “Nearchos” following the sinking of two boats in rough seas off Cape Greco, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) said.
A 45-year-old man was struck by lightning outside a chapel near Kato Drys on Saturday afternoon, after arriving at the site with an elderly man to visit the church. He lost consciousness and was taken to Larnaca General Hospital, where his condition was later described as good, the State Health Services Organisation (SHSO) confirmed.
SHSO spokesman Charalambos Charilaou said the man was taken to the Larnaca A&E department, where he was assessed and underwent tests. “His condition, according to the treating doctors, is good,” Charilaou said.
Larnaca assistant police director Giorgos Foukaris told CNA that lightning struck a point near the man’s vehicle, causing him to suffer minor burns to his shoulder. Kato Drys community leader Nikos Vasileiou told philenews that three people, including an elderly Greek Cypriot man and two of his employees, were at risk after getting out of their vehicle to visit the nearby chapel of Timios Prodromos. “The lightning struck a young man. My son and I brought him around, put him in the car and took him to the village, and an ambulance came and took him,” Vasileiou said, adding that a woman travelling with the group was also lightly struck.
Five people aboard three boats caught in rough seas off Cape Greco were also rescued, after two of the vessels sank, police said. One boat broke apart on rocks and sank, with one person aboard rescued and brought safely to shore. A second boat also sank, according to information published by Kitasweather and confirmed by philenews. The police’s Aerial Unit sent a helicopter to help with the rescue effort. The Fisheries Department said a third boat remained at risk and that officers would visit the area on Monday morning to check for oil pollution.
Firefighters also rescued a child trapped under a collapsed balcony awning in Agios Dometios. The child, on the balcony of a fourth-floor apartment, was rescued by emergency teams and was not injured, Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said.
The Fire Service received 357 calls for assistance across Cyprus, 332 of which came from Nicosia district, Kettis said. A fire also broke out in a large enclosed area in Kokkinotrimithia containing old vehicles, household appliances and construction materials; initial information indicated it was caused by a fallen object, the Fire Service said. In Strovolos, crews remained on standby to deal with fallen branches and other problems caused by the extreme weather, Mayor Stavros Stavrinides said in a social media post.
Kitasweather said fuller, more detailed rainfall figures would be available from Monday, once final measurements were collected from all areas, adding that some measurements on its map are lower than what was actually recorded due to power outages.
