Nicosia, Cyprus. The government is set to present a rapid response plan for major incidents on Monday after an overturned lorry caused seven hours of traffic paralysis on the Nicosia-Limassol motorway last week.
Justice Minister Costas Fitiris said the framework would establish coordinated multi-agency procedures for motorway incidents and other emergencies requiring prolonged intervention.
Coordinated response framework
Fitiris said the plan would be presented to all relevant authorities during a meeting at the justice ministry.
Speaking to CyBC, he said the motorway disruption had exposed weaknesses in the state’s response to major incidents and prompted a review of every stage of the operation.
“This incident was a wake-up call and that is why we will implement this plan across Cyprus,” he said.
The minister said the overturned lorry had blocked all four lanes of the motorway, describing the circumstances as unusual, while noting that similar situations could occur again.
District teams and public information
Under the proposed framework, a predefined response would be activated when an incident is expected to take a prolonged period to clear and requires the involvement of multiple services beyond the police.
Police would secure the scene, close affected roads where necessary and implement diversion routes. Civil Defence would issue public warnings, including through the CY-Alert system.
Each district would have a rapid response team led by a designated coordinator, who would be notified after first responders assess the situation using a standard checklist.
Traffic diversions and updates would be communicated regularly through police announcements, social media and television broadcasts to inform motorists.