Cypriots Feel Vulnerable to Forest Fires and Extreme Weather Events

According to a public opinion survey conducted by Eurobarometer, residents of Cyprus feel more vulnerable to forest fires and extreme weather events than people in other EU countries.

The Eurobarometer survey took place from February 7 to March 3 across the EU, involving 26,411 individual interviews. In Cyprus, the survey was conducted between February 7 and 26, with 500 individual interviews.

The findings reveal that residents in 17 EU member states feel most at risk from extreme weather events, such as storms, droughts, and heatwaves.

In Portugal and Cyprus, people are most concerned about forest fires, while in Bulgaria, floods are the primary concern.

In Sweden, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, cybersecurity threats were the top worry. In Germany, political or geopolitical tensions were the most common concerns. In Estonia, critical infrastructure disruptions were the main fear, and in Finland, public health emergencies ranked highest.

Additionally, when asked where they would seek information about natural disaster risks, Cypriots predominantly chose social media (42% compared to 29% in the EU). This preference slightly outpaced traditional media and was significantly higher than regional authorities.

The second most popular source of information in Cyprus was national media (39% compared to 49% in the EU), followed by family or friends, local or national authorities or agencies, local or regional media, and emergency management services.

Meanwhile, political and geopolitical tensions ranked much lower on the list of concerns for Cypriots (12% in Cyprus, 22% in the EU), followed by terrorist attacks (12% and 14%), major accidents (7% and 10%), with nuclear accidents at the bottom of the list (5% and 6%).