Paphos General Hospital, which was flooded during heavy rain on Saturday night, was “built with very poor-quality work,” Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos has said.
He said the building was “a shambles” and that the ceilings had previously leaked during rain.
“Many buildings are 35 years old and do not have such problems,” he said, adding that his municipality had been warning about the hospital’s condition “for about five years.”
“There is a terrible inefficiency in these matters in the state in general and in successive governments. If the rain had continued for longer, all the floors would have been flooded and the hospital would have turned into a lake,” he said.
Health Minister Michael Damianos had previously promised to improve hospitals across Cyprus during a visit to the facility.
A massive storm over the weekend caused strong winds, rain and hail, knocking out the Electricity Authority’s network in many areas of Cyprus.
Limassol suffered the most, according to Cyprus Radio.
In Paphos there were outages in the communities: Kissonerga, Tala, Timi, ‘Empa and Agia Varvara.