The government has paid €13 million in compensation to people affected by last year’s devastating wildfire in the Limassol mountain region, while authorities say Cyprus is better prepared for this summer’s fire season with more aircraft, enhanced surveillance and updated emergency plans.

The figures were presented on Thursday during a meeting of the House interior committee, which reviewed the state’s readiness in terms of personnel, equipment and coordination ahead of the peak wildfire season.

Interior ministry permanent secretary Elikkos Elia said compensation payments had reached €13 million, with 758 applications submitted on time and all having been examined.

He said compensation had been paid in full to 119 homes, while 133 homes had received a first instalment, 38 a second instalment and 14 a third instalment. A further 88 families have received a fourth instalment to cover rental costs while their homes are restored.

Elia said the ministry, district administrations and other services were working together on fire prevention, including clearing dry vegetation, while the Game and Fauna Service and the forestry department are carrying out round-the-clock patrols.

He also urged parliament to prioritise legislation establishing a new Civil Protection Directorate, describing it as a key part of strengthening the country’s emergency response.

“We also need the help of citizens to prevent disasters,” he said.

Responding to questions from MPs, Elia confirmed that the government had received a legal opinion from the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection confirming the legality of the CY-Alert emergency warning system.

National wildfire coordinator and chief fire officer Nikos Longinos said Cyprus has had 13 firefighting aircraft available since May 1 and expects to add another two before the end of the year.

He added that €3 million had been allocated to communities for vegetation clearance and stressed that keeping both village perimeters and residential areas clear of combustible material remained essential.

Longinos said authorities had responded to 1,250 countryside fires since the beginning of the year and that new surveillance cameras had already been installed in rural parts of Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.

He also praised the contribution of volunteer groups and said the emergency plans “Pyrsos” and “Polyvios” had been updated ahead of the summer.

Among other measures, he said authorities had requested 24-hour staffing at rural fire stations, proposed the creation of 14 new stations and were now using meteorological forecasting data to deploy resources more proactively.

He also confirmed that Cyprus remains responsible for tackling fires inside the buffer zone in coordination with the United Nations, noting that firefighting there is complicated by the presence of minefields.

Forestry department director Savvas Iezekiel said the department had been operating at maximum readiness since April 1, with all fire lookout stations staffed and firefighting vehicles fully serviced.

He said Cyprus currently has three electro-optical camera systems monitoring forests and that another 16 will be installed in rural areas. By early 2027, the expanded network is expected to cover around 80 per cent of forests and the countryside.

Iezekiel also argued that prevention remains more cost-effective than suppression and said controlled burning programmes would be expanded from the autumn.

Longinos confirmed that 17 new fire engines had been ordered by the Limassol district administration, while another 60 firefighters had been recruited this year and deployed to their home districts.

He added that “the National Guard has been asked to maintain the wildfire response centre at the Andreas Papandreou air base adding that we are doing our best to lower the chances of a fire starting and spreading, helicopters can take water from Kouris dam if necessary”. 

During the meeting, Longinos revealed that last year’s wildfire at Farmakas had been caused by an Electricity Authority (EAC) transformer, while officials also highlighted concerns over illegal rubbish dumps after seven of this year’s 1,250 countryside fires started at such sites.

Following the meeting, committee chairman Aristos Damianou welcomed the preparations but said their effectiveness would ultimately be judged during the coming summer.

“If similar challenges arise this summer, we hope the commitments made today will be translated into action,” he said, noting that wildfires had become an increasingly serious consequence of the climate crisis.