Nicosia faces infrastructure challenges after severe weekend flooding

Severe weather on Saturday caused significant flooding in the Engomi, Archangelos, and Pediaios areas of Nicosia. Constantinos Yiorkadjis, president of the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation (DLGO), attributed the damage to structural deficiencies and missing infrastructure. Key areas under investigation include the lack of a comprehensive stormwater network and the failure to complete two planned retention lakes, which have left modern roads like 28th October Street prone to flooding.

Yiorkadjis explained that the root of the problem lies in the legacy of fragmented governance, where ten separate municipalities previously managed disconnected stormwater systems. The DLGO is now conducting studies to address these gaps, though officials warned that permanent solutions will not be immediate due to the necessity of building large-scale infrastructure. In the interim, the organization has established a dedicated team tasked with daily maintenance and cleaning of the stormwater drains, rather than performing sporadic work only during storm alerts. The authority is now working to unify the inherited network, though the process is expected to be lengthy.