Heavy rain hit Paphos on Wednesday, forcing the closure of the Peyia-Lara Road after a river overflowed, with severe thunderstorms and strong winds forecast until early Thursday.

Police urged drivers to avoid the affected road, warning that it was “unsuitable for passage” due to the overflowing river.

The orange weather warning, issued by the met office, runs from 3pm on Wednesday until 5am on Thursday.

Civil Defence sent an emergency alert through the CY-Alert system at 1.47pm to residents of Paphos and Limassol districts and parts of the Larnaca district.

Weather forecaster Andreas Chrysanthou said isolated storms could be particularly intense, whilst Nicosia was expected to experience rain and isolated thunderstorms of lesser intensity.

The fire brigade was placed on heightened alert, with crews deployed across all districts to respond to possible flooding and other weather-related incidents.