UPDATE!: Homes and Roads devastated in TRNC last week after marathon heavy rainfall

Thousands of homes, businesses and schools were flooded following torrential rainfall this week. Officials described the floods which wreaked havoc in Lefkosa and Mesaoria Plain as an environmental catastrophe as rivers burst their banks and people were trapped in their homes, vehicles and work places last Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu told Cyprus Today: The Government immediately formed a crisis committee following the disaster which is made up of different ministries, district officers and architectural engineers. This body is currently taking short, medium and  long-term measures to prevent those appalling scenes from ever being seen again.

The Committee is also talking about day to day problems that can arise during floods. In October 2014, Cyprus Today revealed that a special Prime Ministerial Committee had listed 16 flood prevention projects costing a total of 2.4 million TL - some of which had been given the green light - had  been drawn up by the Water Department. The list included projects to rehabilitate stream beds, ponds and wetlands and was supposed to have been completed by this month.

The supremacy of Law movement chairman and former Bar Association head, Baris Mamali, said it was time for officials "to take responsibility rather than apologise. A blind eye has been turned to illegal structures.

Credit: Northern Cyprus News