2 dead, land flooded from heavy rain

TIRANA, Nov 9 – Two people died by drowning in a river while hundreds of hectares of agriculture land and hundreds of houses were damaged last weekend due to heavy rains and insufficient infrastructure, mainly in northwestern Albania.
A man and his teenage niece drowned in a river in Gramsh, southeast of the capital Tirana, while they were trying to cross a river. Two others managed to escape.
Hundreds of houses in Lezha, Lac, Shkodra and Kruja districts were flooded as the drainage systems did not work properly. Authorities and people complained their systems were often blocked due to illegal construction.
For the same reasons hundreds of hectares of agriculture land in the same area suffered great damage due to the flooding.
Authorities said they were undertaking all the necessary steps to prevent further damage.
The government said they were following up with attention to the situation created in the Drini River cascade and Kurbini Prefecture, Lezha district, Porto Romano areas. They were watching other areas of the country as well due to the heavy rainfall and were assessing the measures that the ministries and other agencies have taken for overcoming the challenges.
They pledged a constant supervision of the situation and functioning of the pumping stations in particular. The Civil Emergency service is in full alert to face the created situation.
The opposition, meanwhile, strongly criticized the government for not taking the required steps on time.