Frequently Asked Questions

CyWarn is a free warning app for Cyprus. It brings together alerts from 12 official and scientific sources and sends you push notifications about earthquakes, severe weather, heat, wildfires and civil defence in your district.

No. CY-Alert is the official warning system of Cyprus and sends messages straight to every phone in an acute emergency. CyWarn adds a map, history and background, more hazards such as heat or air quality, and four languages. In an emergency, instructions from the authorities always take precedence.

CyWarn monitors earthquakes, severe weather (storms, heatwaves, heavy rain), wildfires, civil defense alerts, geopolitical events, and water shortage warnings affecting Cyprus.

USGS and EMSC (earthquakes), the Cyprus Department of Meteorology, Meteoalarm and Open-Meteo (weather), NASA FIRMS, EUMETSAT LSA SAF and EFFIS (wildfires), Copernicus Sentinel-5P (air and dust), GDACS, Cyprus Civil Defence and reservoir levels via Cyprus Water.

If you share your location, CyWarn matches it against the official district boundaries of the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys. You can also pick districts yourself. Island-wide warnings go to everyone.

Our alerts come directly from official scientific and government sources. We display the original data without modification. Alert timing depends on how quickly the source agencies publish their data.

CyWarn is optimized for Cyprus but displays earthquake data for the broader Eastern Mediterranean region. Weather alerts are specifically for Cyprus and nearby areas.

After downloading the app, you'll be prompted to enable notifications. You can also enable them later in your device settings under CyWarn. We recommend allowing location access for area-specific alerts.

CyWarn requires an internet connection to receive new alerts. However, previously received alerts are cached and viewable offline. Push notifications may be delayed without connectivity.

CyWarn is available in English, Greek (Ελληνικά), German (Deutsch) and Russian (Русский) to serve the diverse community of Cyprus. You can change the language anytime in the app settings.

Yes, CyWarn is completely free to download and use. There are no advertisements. Premium features like Family Safety groups are available as an optional subscription.

Family Safety lets you create groups with family members. During emergencies, you can share your location and send 'I'm Safe' check-ins. This feature requires an account and optional premium subscription.