160 people being housed in temporary accommodation, civil defence says

A total of 160 people are currently being housed in temporary accommodation after being evacuated from their homes due to the wildfire which has been burning in the Limassol district since Wednesday, civil defence spokeswoman Chara Lazarou said on Saturday.

She said the 160 have been transferred to houses, hotel rooms, apartments and other accommodation facilities, and that those spaces have been “voluntarily offered” by companies and members of the public.

In addition, she said, the civil defence is continuing to host firefighters who have travelled to Cyprus from abroad to fight the Limassol district fire.

She said that in total, 32 Egyptian firefighters, 17 Jordanian firefighters, and 11 Lebanese firefighters are currently being housed in overnight accommodation in the Paphos district, while the 26 Greek forest commandos are being housed near Larnaca.

Meanwhile, she said, civil defence personnel are “constantly at the coordination centre” in the Limassol suburb of Ypsonas, tasked with distributing water, food and other needs.

“These are permanent personnel, as well as volunteers who are taking care of distribution, in collaboration with the national guard in the field, or with the Red Cross, or with mukhtars, to help those affected,” she said.

She added that the civil defence is working with the health insurance organisation (HIO) to “cover medical and pharmaceutical needs” for those who require such help.

Additionally, she said, a “large amount of humanitarian aid was collected even before what was needed was recorded”.

Those who require temporary accommodation due to the fire are advised to call 25 811024 until 11pm.

Lazarou said that calls to this number “should only be made for this purpose, and not for other reasons”.