Civil Defence will investigate failures that prevented warning sirens from sounding in several areas of Cyprus during the annual commemoration of the July 15 coup anniversary, with officials saying measures will be taken to address the matter.

The issue emerged on Wednesday after residents in several municipalities reported that they did not hear the scheduled sirens.

The warning system was activated at 8.20am as part of the annual remembrance of the coup d’etat to remove Archbishop Makarios, but reports indicated that the alert was not heard in some areas.

Idalion and Lakatamia municipalities expressed dissatisfaction over the failure, with Idalion informing residents that the disruption was caused by a problem with the civil defence siren system.

Lakatamia also issued an announcement stating that the sirens had again failed to operate in parts of the municipality, while municipal authorities expressed concern over the recurring issue.

Civil defence spokesperson Panayiotis Liasidis said the incidents would be examined and that authorities were already assessing the condition of the existing system.

“All preparations were made based on the procedures. Certainly, some problems occurred, all cases will be examined,” Liasidis said.

He added that a study was underway for the replacement of the current siren network and improvements to coverage in areas where alerts were not currently reaching residents.

“The system is being evaluated, a study is being conducted for its replacement, and we are monitoring the issue, we will take some measures,” he said.

Liasidis said civil defence would review each reported failure and take action where necessary, adding that the planned replacement of the system was expected to provide wider coverage.