In the wake of the deadly wildfires that struck mountainous Limassol, the Cyprus Third Age Observatory is calling for urgent government action to prevent similar tragedies in the future- starting with a comprehensive mapping of vulnerable groups across the country.
The appeal comes after two elderly people were discovered deceased in a burned vehicle during the fire, a loss the Observatory describes as both avoidable and unacceptable.
In a public statement, Observatory President Demetrios Antoniou said this was not merely a consequence of nature, but a failure of state preparedness and protection systems.
“This is not a natural disaster,” said Antoniou. “It is a tragedy caused by state inertia on all levels. The people who died were elderly. The state should have identified them, protected them, and ensured their evacuation.”
The organisation is now calling on President Nikos Christodoulides to lead a national initiative to institutionalise the identification, monitoring, and protection of at-risk citizens, especially during crises such as wildfires, floods, and heatwaves.
Call for coordinated ministerial action
The Observatory is also urging coordinated action across ministries, specifically addressing:
– The Ministry of Health
– The Ministry of the Interior
– The Ministry of Justice and Public Order
– The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment
– And the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare
It calls for the formation of a national prevention and protection plan for vulnerable groups- not only the elderly, but also children, persons with disabilities, and isolated citizens who may not be reached in time during emergencies.
“Prevention is a duty, not goodwill”
The statement expresses both sorrow and outrage at what it sees as an institutional failure, stressing that prevention is a state obligation, not something that should depend on the goodwill of neighbours or volunteers alone.
The Observatory calls on communities and individual citizens to demand safer homes, better evacuation systems, and government accountability- especially for the most vulnerable members of society.
“The loss of life should not be a footnote,” the statement concludes. “It should be a turning point.”
As Cyprus begins its recovery from the fires, calls for systemic change are growing louder, and the demand for mapping vulnerable groups may become a key part of the national conversation on how to protect lives in an age of increasingly extreme climate events.
Also read: Elderly couple was trying to escape from their holiday home in Limassol
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