The Larnaca District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) has begun sending evacuation letters to residents of two apartment blocks declared dangerous, with hundreds more residents potentially facing displacement if assessments of 22 further buildings result in evacuation orders.
Letters were sent on Wednesday to residents of 24 flats at Madona Court, a six-storey block in the Faneromeni area. Evacuation letters for a second block containing 17 flats in the Chrysopolitissa area will be sent by Monday.
Residents of both blocks, Cypriots and foreign nationals alike, will be offered hotel accommodation if needed. Civil Defence has secured 30 rooms across various hotels following instructions from Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, while the Municipality of Larnaca has activated its “Xenios” programme, supported by the Metropolis of Kition.
DLGO President Angelos Hadjicharalambous told philenews: “We are in continuous contact with Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, whom I thank, as he gave instructions to Civil Defence on the matter. Civil Defence, based on a plan it has, secured 30 rooms in various hotels, which we will use for residents if needed. The Mayor of Larnaca took similar action. The only body that has not responded so far is the Sub-Ministry of Social Welfare, to which a letter has been sent.”
Contacts with the owners of Madona Court began on Wednesday. The owners had been receiving warnings for years, and the DLGO is seeking to establish whether they are willing to carry out repairs.
The DLGO is also assessing 22 further occupied buildings in Larnaca city that have been declared dangerous. Additional inspections are under way to determine whether immediate evacuation orders should be issued.
At least three of the buildings are large complexes housing hundreds of residents. Hadjicharalambous said that if evacuation orders are issued for even some of these, Larnaca could face a humanitarian crisis, as finding a sufficient number of hotel rooms would be difficult.
In parallel, the DLGO is assessing abandoned buildings at serious risk of collapse, several of which have become shelters for homeless people.
A number of such buildings in the broader Larnaca area have already been sealed, with fencing erected, doors and windows closed, and hazard signs posted, Hadjicharalambous said.
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