TIRANA, March 21 – The floods that took over the Shkodra and Vau Dejes municipalities last week due to massive hydropower plant water discharges have gotten worse in the last couple of days, while the evacuation of the first families from the flooded areas began.
As of the dateline, local media reported 4500 hectares of agricultural land are under water and more than 200 buildings are critically surrounded by it.
Five evacuation centers have been set up from Shkodra’s municipality in the city’s dormitory and community centers.
Last month’s massive rainfalls and the water discharges from the Drin Cascade hydropower plant worsened the situation for Shkodra’s citizens, who were warned by civil emergency workers to leave the affected areas as soon as possible.
Both the municipality’s mayor Voltana Ademi and Shkodra’s habitants have been pushing for the government to declare this a case of civil emergency, so that evaluation and compensation of the citizens’ houses and farms’ damages can be made possible.
“Declaring this as an emergency makes it possible that the situation gets the value it deserves, that citizens’ right for compensation over past and present damages is recognized and that all governmental institutions, including Shkodra’s municipality, take up the responsibility the law on civil emergencies foresees to allocate funds that will counter the emergency,” Ademi said in a press conference.
All appropriate governmental structures are currently assisting the situation in Shkodra’s lowlands, but the Ministry of Defence has yet to reply to Ademi’s official request.
Meanwhile, experts said that not enough has been done to protect Shkodra on the long-term from the danger of floods in the last 27 years.
Karlo Kamsi, engineer for more than fifty years, told local media the narrowing of Buna’s riverbank has gradually happened because of the abundance of illegal constructions in the area in the last decade, as well as due to the lack of gates which would allow better water management in the new Buna Bridge.
In this context, Shkodra’s citizens have been protesting what they call the government’s indifference to the destruction of their houses and properties and, saying the situation is far from getting better, have told local media a better solution would be for them to leave their lands forever.
