The terrible floods in Spain demonstrate the importance of a properly functioning early warning system. In Cyprus, this valuable tool for saving human lives does not yet exist. It is expected that the relevant tender for the installation of the system will be announced in December 2025.

This was announced on Thursday, October 31, by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Cyprus Konstantinos to John.

“The system will be able to send early warning messages to mobile phone subscribers,” the head of the ministry said.

Recall that in April 2023, the Government of Cyprus assured that by the beginning of 2024, the island will have an early warning system for emergency situations via mobile phones. Notifications will automatically appear on the screens of citizens’ mobile phones, without the need to open a message.

However, so far this initiative has not been implemented. As it turned out, the authorities are looking for options to integrate the new service with the emergency number 112. It is expected that the tender for the installation of this system will be announced before the end of the year.

“It so happened that we were also allocated the number 112, and we definitely had to go through all these procedures so that the two systems would be interoperable. We are in the process of confirming some points of the documents and will soon re—announce the tender,” he said Panagiotis Liasidis, spokesman for the Civil Defense.

The only thing that can be said for sure is that Cyprus will remain without a system for protecting its citizens in danger for another year. Until then, they will continue to be warned by sirens or door-to-door.

Meanwhile, Cyprus is one of the last European countries to adopt this mechanism. Its operation earlier could have saved human lives, as in the case of the deadly fire in the mountainous Larnaca in 2021. In Greece, it started working after the tragedy in Mati. Of course, installing the system is not a panacea.

A source: alphanews.live

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/kipr-nameren-vnedrit-sistemu-rannego