A technical problem, the cause of which is being investigated together with the contracted company, led to a two-hour delay in sending the warning message through the Cy-Alert early warning system during Monday's fire in the Larnaca district, Civil Defence spokesperson Panayiotis Liasidis told CNA on Tuesday.
Delay prompts criticism
The delay in sending the alert prompted reactions from residents, political parties and other bodies, after the message reached mobile phones roughly two hours after the evacuation process for the affected communities had begun.
The fire broke out at midday on Monday from the Kalo Chorio firing range in the Larnaca district, affecting the communities of Kalo Chorio, Agia Anna and Psevdas. The Civil Defence Force assisted with the precautionary evacuation of the communities, acting on the instructions of the operation's commander and in line with the provisions of the "Polyvios" Plan.
What Civil Defence says happened
According to Liasidis, Civil Defence was informed at around 15:00 of the need to activate the evacuation plan, and efforts were made to send the warning message via Cy-Alert immediately. "Yesterday, attempts were made, but a technical problem arose, which caused the delay, and so we were able to send the message after 17:00. At 17:00 the message was sent normally, while at 19:15 we sent a second message, informing residents that the danger had passed and that they could return to their homes," he said.
Asked whether the cause of the problem had been identified, Liasidis said an investigation was under way in cooperation with the contracted company. "The necessary checks are being carried out with the contractor, based on the provisions of the contract, in order to establish exactly what happened," he said, adding that formal explanations had already been requested from the company.
"An effective tool," says Civil Defence
Liasidis described Cy-Alert as "an effective tool," stressing that the aim is for it to remain in full operational readiness at all times. "This particular problem occurred, but the positive thing is that there was flexibility both on the part of Civil Defence and on the part of the community leaders, who are responsible for initiating the evacuation process. Everything worked smoothly, apart from this small delay with Cy-Alert," he said.
How the system works
Responding to a question from CNA about how the system functions, Liasidis explained that Cy-Alert is an early warning system that sends mass messages to mobile devices located within a specific geographic area. "A polygon is selected on the map, and anyone receiving mobile signal within that area receives the message, regardless of whether they hold a Cypriot phone number or not," he said.
He clarified that the system is activated by Civil Defence, which makes it available to all state services when there is a need to inform the public of an imminent risk or of protective measures to be taken.
First real activation of the system
Cy-Alert was launched recently in the Republic of Cyprus, following successful test alerts. Monday's fire marked the system's first real operational activation, during which the delay in sending the warning messages occurred. The relevant authorities are now awaiting the results of the technical investigation to establish the cause of the problem and prevent it from recurring in future incidents.
