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  Limassol Time


Weather Forecast

Earhquake and Tornado hit Cyprus

19th September 2009

A large tornado descended on Nicosia yesterday, along with large hailstones and heavy rain. At least 17 people were reported as injured, although none are believed to have sustained serious injuries. Amongst the injured is the Swiss Ambassador, whose car was just outside Lykavitos Police station in Nicosia when the tornado hit, resulting in the car being crushed by a huge tree trunk.

Other injuries included a woman who was treated for minor shock after being hit on the head by a large hailstone whilst she was near the US Embassy. Another man narrowly escaped decapitation when a house’s water tank landed on his car.

The tornado started in the Latsia area, then went on to hit the Nicosia to Limassol motorway, after which it turned towards Aglandja and Pallouriotissa, tearing off roofs and water tanks, and uprooting trees in its path. An eyewitness stated that the tornado took over all four lanes of the motorway. Latsia seems to have suffered the worst damage.

Many people unavoidably found themselves at the heart of the tornado, and some said they had heard a loud buzzing noise before suddenly having to run for cover. Moments later they were faced with absolute destruction. Telephone lines and electricity pylons were also cut off, and ten families were left homeless and had to spend the night in hotels.

Cyprus police set up a crisis management centre to deal with the situation after receiving a large number of calls for assistance from distressed people. The fire service scrambled to provide assistance to several areas in Latsia as well as the centre of Nicosia.

The full extent of the damage is as yet undetermined, as priority is being given to sorting the electricity and water problems, as well as providing shelter for those whose homes were affected.

Another event that thankfully didn’t result in any injuries or damage, was an earthquake of magnitude 4.6, as reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, on Wednesday 16th of September at 17.09. The quake’s epicenter was 1 km SE of Agios Tychonas, with a depth of 2km. Buildings rattled for up to 20 seconds, sending people running from buildings into the streets. Around 30 small after shocks were recorded by the same seismological Centre within 24 hours after the 4.6 quake, with a few tremors of up to 3.3 still being recorded on 18th and 19th September in the same region.

Earthquakes and tornados are not a new or unusual phenomenon in Cyprus; with the majority of earth tremors going unnoticed.

According to Meteorological Officer Stalo Papachristodoulou, the Cyprus weather will continue to be unstable until Monday 21st September, with clouds, rain and storms, mainly inland, but also in coastal areas.

You can see the latest weather updates for Limassol Cyprus on the left side of this page.




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