Shoddily built homes added to Limassol tornado damage

Limassol District Officer Marios Alexandrou said on Saturday that houses in Yermasoyia, damaged in a tornado earlier in the week, were badly built and people were ignoring the authorities’ calls attempting to sort out how much damage has been done.

Speaking to CyBC, Alexandrou said that following the tornado, officers ascertained that many of the houses were not built correctly and flying debris from them caused more damage to neighbouring homes.

“It is not possible from a home worth €3 million to have the roof tiles fly off because they were not placed correctly.“

He said that bad construction is not only damaging for the owners of the property, but also harms the neighbouring homes.

According to Alexandrou, the costs of the damage will surpass by €2 million the initial estimation since the homes are high value.

He said that officers will continue to inspect the houses over the weekend and will continue to archive the damages on the online platform.

The final estimate is expected to be submitted to the interior ministry on Monday or Tuesday, Alexandrou said.

On Thursday, the government pledged it was working efficiently to quickly give compensation to over 150 people who saw their homes damaged or destroyed by severe weather.

 The properties were damaged by the tornadoes that wrecked eastern parts of Limassol on Wednesday, with areas such as Yermasoyia and Mouttayiaka hardest hit. Roofs were ripped off, electricity cut, and windows shattered.

So far, authorities have recorded damage to 156 homes, two apartment buildings, eight commercial premises, 24 vehicles and a church.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said arrangements were made for residents to stay in hotels if their homes were not in a suitable condition in the aftermath of the storm.

“The images we all saw are indicative of the extent of the damage in the affected areas and the nightmarish moments experienced by dozens of our fellow citizens,” he said.

Though Yermasoyia was the worst hit, the severity of the storm also affected areas such as Pyrgos, Zakaki and Moni, Alexandrou said.