We live our lives forever taking leave - Rilke

Counter

Sunday, 15 January 2023

Sunday, January 15/2023



 
Wake up to rain belting down. Presumably not creating the Red Sea here, as in Famagusta [district] yesterday, where 35 stranded motorists had to be rescued, but streets flood pretty quickly in the rain. We watch a young man with a mini electric scooter cross the road. He stops and removes his socks, presumably recognising that his shoes are beyond protecting, then wades shin deep across the road carrying his scooter. Note in the photograph the tiny orange dot bottom right. It’s an orange in the gutter fallen from the orange tree beside the sign.

The mayor of Meneou, near Larnaca airport, says: “around 3-4 houses have been flooded to some extent. Usually, these are houses that are below street level. Tomorrow we will have the District Administration and its officials visit the area and record any damage these people have suffered so they can be compensated” [Cyprus Mail online]. Interestingly no reference to insurance. Conceivably the compensation is down to some recognition that infrastructure defects are related to the damage. As, a few years ago, serious potholes were filled because the government was being sued by people experiencing damage to their vehicles on badly maintained roads.

The fire department has been busy in Larnaca this morning. “In the Larnaca district the Fire Service received 33 calls and its members were involved in rescuing an elderly woman trapped in her home,  pumping water from homes and yards, from outbuildings and basements, opening rainwater drains, towing vehicles, de-trapping drivers, and moving trees uprooted by strong winds” [Cyprus Mail online]. The pumping out of flooded basements seems to be standard operating procedure here for fire departments. Rescuing people stranded in their homes by flood waters less frequently required.
Within a short time, though, the storm drains have managed to absorb the water from the streets. Rain continues intermittently.

Both photographs taken from our balcony in what passes chez nous for early morning.