Flooding in Shkodra

SHKODRA, Jan. 12 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha met Monday with the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Civil Emergencies in Shkodra Prefecture to discuss the floods in the region.
The premier insisted that so far, despite material and ecological damage, there has been no loss of human lives, and for that he gave credits to the local and central authorities.
The closed-door meeting included those from the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Civil Emergencies, Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli, ministers and deputy ministers, the head of Albanian Power Corporation, as well as other senior representatives.
After the meeting Berisha told the media that his cabinet’s “top priority is the evacuation and salvation of people’s life.” “Everyone should prepare a bill. Unfortunately, at the moment, the bill lies under water. In order to quickly respond to consequences of these floods, it was carried out an extraordinary work. This was an event, which as it results from the most serious observers of floods all over the world, it happens very rarely, once in hundred times. So far, despite material and ecological damage, there is no loss of human lives, and this a merit of this operation.”
As Albania continued to fight major flooding in the north of the country, assistance from several EU countries in the form of mobile generators, rescue boats and helicopters reached the country over the weekend.
The assistance is being coordinated via the European Civil Protection Mechanism. An EU assessment team arrived in Tirana on 8 January to coordinate EU assistance. The team, which includes a liaison officer from the European Commission and an associated UN expert, is carrying out assessments in the flooded areas and meeting with the Albanian emergency coordination team, and will stay until Saturday. A significant amount of in-kind assistance reached the country over the weekend. Mobile generators from Slovenia and a crew of 30 fire-fighters with their equipment (vehicles, rescue boats and water pumps) from Greece arrived on Saturday. More assistance is expected today, with two transport helicopters and medicine from Italy, additional mobile generators and high capacity water pumps from Austria and water pumps from France are on their way. In addition, Austria and France have agreed to transport their relief items jointly and have requested co-financing of transport from the European Civil Protection Mechanism. After days of heavy rains and melting snow in the north of Albania, about 2,500 buildings have been flooded and some 5,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas.
Two Italian CH47 helicopters, an army operations team and the Italian National Civil Protection ensured the delivery of potable water, medicines and primary aid to the population of Velipoje. They were completely isolated because of flooding which in recent days has affected the north of Albania.
The air bridge carried out by two planes, sent from the Italian Government in coordination with the MIC (Monitoring Information Center) in Brussels, and dispatched about 50 tons of aid to the isolated population.
“The operations are managed in close liaison with civil defense and armed forces, as the situation is particularly difficult due to the weather that continues to have an impact in the area,” said Paolo Vaccari, team leader of the Civil Protection Department.
The Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) is operated by the Environment Directorate General of the European Commission. It is the operational heart of the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection. It is accessible 24 hours a day, and provides countries access to the Community civil protection platform. Any country affected by a major disaster – inside or outside the EU – can launch a request for assistance through the MIC.
During emergencies the MIC plays three important roles: serving as a communications hub for the exchange of requests and offers of assistance; providing information on civil protection preparedness and response to participating states as well as a wider audience of interested stakeholders, and; supporting co-ordination of the provision of European assistance