Seven months after the drone attack on the British Bases at Akrotiri and the state of alert that had been declared in the Republic of Cyprus, which sparked discussions regarding the adequacy of shelters in municipalities and communities, the Spokesperson for Civil Defense, Panagiotis Liasides, admitted on the Alpha Kalimera program that shelter coverage still applies to only half the country’s population.
As he said, the Ministry of the Interior is continuing its efforts to find new, large spaces that can be used as shelters in case of an emergency. He described the process as difficult, as it begins with an inspection and assessment of the sites to verify that they have the necessary infrastructure and meet specific criteria.
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“Once all of this has been verified, contracts are drawn up, signed by the owners, and then the facilities are added to the list of shelters so that citizens are aware of them,”
Regarding the suitability of existing shelters, Mr. Liasidis noted that the Civil Defense has conducted three inspections to date, involving on-site visits to shelters, to verify the exact addresses and ensure proper mapping.
“Excellent work is being done, and through CY ALERT, precise locations will be available to easily locate the shelters.”
The Civil Defense Spokesperson noted that unsuitable shelters have been removed from the relevant list, and efforts are already underway to replace them.
“There are approximately 2,500 shelters. A small number of shelters did not meet the criteria and were removed.”
“The inspection will be completed by the end of October, and we will have the exact details regarding the improvements needed for the shelters,” Mr. Liasides emphasized.
“In the budget, we have allocated 100,000 for experts who will prepare studies for new shelters and another 100,000 for the maintenance and improvement of existing ones. The experts will tell us where the suitable locations are, and we also have some new ideas that we want to discuss with them.”
Mr. Liasidis revealed that after the attack, many owners of properties that could be used as shelters had expressed strong interest and shown a willingness to register them as shelters. However, seven months later, several of them withdrew their interest.
“We are calling on our fellow citizens to come forward if they have spaces available, because at the end of the day, what we are doing is for the safety of us all.”
Mr. Liasides clarified that experts are expected to begin work in early 2027, while there is the option of utilizing a special team from the European Commission at no cost.
