Authorities are trying to assess the extent of the destruction caused by Saturday’s natural disaster, as they race to document the damage. 

In Nicosia, which was in the eye of the storm, crews from the District Administration have already documented numerous incidents. 

“Our crews have already visited three homes that sustained severe damage, rendering them uninhabitable. The damage is mainly to solar panels, water tanks, and some roofs where the tiles have shifted. There is also damage to some fences and vehicles.”
Andreas Hatzipakkos – District Administrator of Nicosia

“So far, 183 affected homes have been recorded in 20 communities and three municipalities, mainly in the District of Nicosia, as well as damage to public infrastructure.”
Ministry of the Interior

The process is also underway in the other districts, while inspectors from the Department of Agriculture have begun assessing the damage caused by strong winds and hailstorms to crops.

For another 24 hours, crews from local authorities remained on standby to address the issues.

““The Nicosia District Administration is in the village of Pera Oreinis, repairing damage caused by the severe weather, as there is no Community Council.”
Eleni Fanari – Journalist

And while this morning the power grid appeared to have overcome all problems, new minor localized outages occurred later in the day in the Nicosia district because certain facilities, such as offices and businesses, were closed over the weekend

.““We did everything we could. They worked all night—I want to emphasize that.”
Christina Papadopoulou – EAC Press Spokesperson 

Record Rainfall 

If the bad weather brought anything good, it was the heavy rainfall, which broke every record for the month of August.

According to preliminary data from the Meteorological Service, since August 1, total rainfall has reached 30 millimeters, amounting to 1,034% of the monthly average. Of that total, 22.5 millimeters were recorded on Saturday alone. 

August Rainfall

30 mm –> 1034% of normal (2.9 mm)
Saturday, August 29: 22.5 mm

The previous record was set in August 1971, with 20.6 millimeters of rain.

What we experienced on Saturday, moreover, was a rare phenomenon

.”It was a combination of two systems—one at the surface and one in the upper atmosphere—which created an explosive mix. Because the barometric low south of Cyprus was pushing moist, warm air from the sea over the land where the upper-level disturbance was located.”
Filippos Tymvios – Director of the Meteorological Service

Although August is generally a dry month, this seems to be changing, as in the last 35 years, zero precipitation has been recorded in August only twice.

Watch the report by Rafaella Stavrinou:

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