Cyprus Shelters Inspected: Approximately 200 Deemed Unusable

Approximately 200 civil defense shelters in Cyprus have been deemed unusable and will be removed from the registry, according to Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou.

The minister stated that authorities have inspected about 99% of the 2,480 registered shelters. During the inspections, roughly 200 sites were found unfit for use, and another 230 were found to be inaccessible to the public.

The island's shelter system, established in 1999, relied heavily on private underground spaces voluntarily provided by owners for emergency use. In recent years, authorities have been working to increase the number of shelters by integrating underground parking lots and other public spaces.

Currently, the shelter network can accommodate approximately 40–45% of the country's population.

Authorities are also preparing a reform of the civil protection system, including new legislation and the creation of a national coordinator position. A temporary coordinator will be appointed pending the passage of the law.

The minister also noted that the current SMS alert system is a temporary measure. A comprehensive 112 emergency warning system is expected to be fully operational by June. Presently, SMS alerts may not reach everyone as they depend on the region where the subscriber is registered with their mobile provider.

In the event of threats, such as incoming missiles or drones, emergency services typically have only a few minutes to warn the population and activate alert systems.