Much of southern Albania has been under water for a week, as heavy rains bring rivers to historic levels.
FIER, Feb. 5, 2015
Flash floods caused by heavy rains hit southern Albania hard this week, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents and causing massive damage to homes, livestock and businesses.
There have been no victims, officials said, but more than 500 people have been evacuated. Rescue boats and army helicopters were used to get to many people stuck surrounded by rising water.
Television footage from the affected areas showed massive lakes had formed where cultivated fields had once been. Hundreds of sheep have drowned too. The economic damage to the region’s agricultural sector is enormous, local officials said.
“Thousands of hectares are under water and hundreds o family homes have been flooded,” Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said. “The situation is critical.”
The government says it launched civil emergency operation to deal with the floods, with army troops deployed to aid civilian officials in the evacuation of stranded people.
Many parts of southern Albania are also in black out conditions, as power transformers have been flooded.
The counties of Gjirokaster, Fier and Vlora were worst affected, as Vjosa and Drino rivers swelled to their highest levels in recorded history, causing damages cities and towns on their shores, including Përmet, Memaliaj, Fier and the Dropull region.
Police advised against all travel to the southern parts of the country, as the roads are either flooded on danger of being so. In areas of higher elevation, such as Korça County, a snow storm has left many roads in bad conditions, and by Tuesday, the Korça area had also flooded.
Heavy rains began Jan. 30 and have now gone on for more than a week, prompting authorities to evacuate people in Vlore and Berat districts. By Feb. 1, all rivers in the south had overflowed their banks covering with water not only 5,000 hectares but also hundreds of homes in Vlore, Fier, Berat and Gjirokastra districts.
Heavy rain and snow caused rivers to flood thousands of hectares, hundreds of homes and many roads.
Police and army troops evacuated 420 of flooded families and their livestock in the districts of Vlore, Fier, Gjirokaster and Berat, some 100-180 kilometers south of capital of Tirana, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.
Many areas in southern Albania had no power or potable water. Police urged residents to cancel travel plans and more intense rain was forecast to hit over the next few days.
Authorities called on the endangered people to respond to the request for their evacuation. Many families declined to leave their homes, fearing for their property and livestock.
Prime Minister Edi Rama and other ministers pledged that after getting over with the imminent emergency threat, they would make the calculation and compensate people. Rama also pledged investment in the flooded areas that would assist in preventing them in other cases.
But the worst comes for the farmers who have lost not only their annual products but also will suffer damage in their agriculture land and livestock.
These are people like Arben Krasniqi, 46, in Darzeze village, Fier district, 115 kilometers south of Tirana, who as concerned about his sheep as himself Monday, transporting with a small boat what had remained of his once flock of 400. He had yet to count all the dead sheep.
His village, one of the worst affected, is home to some 3,000 inhabitants. Farmers there also complained of the delayed assistance coming from the authorities.
Other areas in the south still suffered from power or water supply. Police urged residents to cancel travel plans and more intense rain was forecast to hit over the next few days.
Rama also said the government had asked for assistance from the European Union, however member states like Greece and Bulgaria have also seen similar flooding this week. Neighboring Macedonia also saw major damage from floods.
People said that the government should do more to stop forest cutting, use of river beds for construction and rubbish thrown on the rivers — all things that lead to more flooding.
Health Ministry says there have been no health problems in the flooded areas so far.
Authorities have started to distribute food and other stuff to the affected people.
Meanwhile non-governmental organizations or the civic ones have started to make calls to collect food assistance, other house items and also money for the families still under water.
This story appeared in the Feb. 6, 2015 print edition.
