Time to overhaul natural disaster preparation programs
TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
TIRANA, Feb 16 – When a natural disaster hits, people around the world accept that some things simply can’t be controlled. The only thing one can do is prepare. In Albania, where floods, earthquakes and heavy snowfall are always potential natural disasters – there must be proper planning and preparations to respond in such emergencies. Yet, the response these crises get by both authorities and common citizens is often inadequate, primarily because of failure to plan ahead.
Simply responding to each crisis as it comes along, which Albania has so far been doing, is not enough.
This year, nature has delivered some of the nastiest weather Albania ever gets. People have died, isolated in the cold. Homes have crumbled under the weight of snow. Much of the country is inaccessible to authorities.
Albanians are not alone in facing this winter’s vicious weather. But this latest crisis is just the latest example of how unprepared Albanian authorities and Albanians in general are to deal with natural disasters when it comes to planning, coordination and funding.
While the government spends millions on other projects, it has obviously left emergency programs under-funded. While Albanian citizens lament the loss of property, demanding reparations from the government, they obviously never thought or were educated to purchase insurance to deal with such losses.
People are having a very hard time at this moment. Thousands have been stuck isolated for two weeks. Their basic needs for food and medicine and communication are under great threat. This moment can turn to anger or to an incentive to prepare better for the future. This newspaper hopes it will be the latter.
The Albanian state needs to shift to proactive thinking so it is able in the future to have the capacity to fully handle such emergencies. It can’t leave its citizens to fend for themselves when a crisis hits. But Albanians living in areas where these natural disasters are likely to happen should also prepare to help themselves – under the guidance of proper government programs.
It is also sad to see politicians are up to their old tricks. Instead of putting the people they are supposed to serve first, they are arguing about how to win political points from the crisis. The government, under attack for not doing enough to properly manage the weather emergency, is often trying to change the subject. The opposition, on the other hand, was a bit too fast to jump and blame the government, when a Socialist government would likely face much the same difficulties officials in power today face.
This is a state strength problem, rather than a political one. Albania needs to have mature policies in place for disaster preparation, similar to those used by other NATO members.
It needs to heavily invest in programs that prepare emergency infrastructure, supplies and better health services in rural areas. Albania’s public health service is in a deplorable state as it is. It would be a good first place to start investing.
Unfortunately, authorities might not have a lot of time to prepare. If the snow melts very fast, another round of flooding is likely to follow. For now, all Albanian authorities can do is play catch up crisis after crisis.
