Fresh Rain Raises Fears of Floods Aggravation
With renewed rain authorities repeat calls for evacuation and aid. European countries, civic and other organization, private companies and individuals are pouring aid to the flooded persons.
Tirana Times
TIRANA, Dec. 9 – European countries are sending emergency aid to northwestern Albania, where over 14,000 people are evacuated from some 14,000 hectares of flooded area.
Italy brought Monday morning 34 tons of food, medicine and clothing while five military transport helicopters from NATO member countries (Turkey and Greece) are assisting thousands of Albanian army and police forces, and local authorities to help evacuation and food supply missions.
Besides the flooded areas of the Shkodra district, 120 kilometers north of Tirana, Albania’s capital, about 2,000 hectares are flooded in other parts in southeastern and southwestern Albania.
Weather forecast shows continuous rain in the next days present.
More than one-week long of flooding was caused from overflowing of the Shkodra Lake and Buna River and also authorities artificially have taken out excess water from the reservoirs of the three hydropower stations in the Drini River in northern Albania.
For the past four days, the Balkans have coped with the worst floods in a century, and western Europe has deal with subfreezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls that have led to fatalities and closed airports, highways and schools.
“The situation is difficult because of from Shkodra Lake combined with the banks of several rivers bursting. I fear this effort with be one for the long term,” Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said.
Interior Minister Lulzim Basha said there was an increased presence of police forces in Shkodra and turned down alleged fears of robbing of the houses left vacant from evacuated persons.
Authorities say the situation in and around the city of Shkodra is critical. The only way in and out of the town is by boat or helicopter, or a secondary rough road.
Many roads all around the country were almost practically blocked over the weekend following heavy rain.
The Transport Ministry reported daily on the situation of the roads.
Authorities have described it as the country’s worst flooding in living memory.
Turkey has sent three helicopters and Greece has sent two in response to an appeal for help from Albania.
There are fears that more heavy rain could raise water levels further and overwhelm water gates at hydro-electric power plants.
Authorities fear that more heavy rain could raise water levels further and overwhelm water-gates at hydro-electric power plants.
The high intensity of rain and water is placing at risk the dykes of hydro power plants. In the Drini and Mat cascades, the great amount of water flow makes it obligatory to open the gates of hydro power plants.
Even the opening of the gates in the hydro power plants of Ulza and Shkopet caused several problems there.
Kosovo sent an army unit specializing in emergencies to help thousands of Albanian police officers and soldiers.
Albania’s government also declared the state of emergency in the Lezha and Durres districts, south of Shkodra and west of Tirana.
Rama urges re-drafting of the budget
TIRANA – Opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama urged the government to redraft the budget and focus all its investment in taking care for the country’s infrastructure and nature.
He blamed the government for the mismanagement of the Drini River hydropower plants and for the flooding that has covered all northwestern Albania.
Rama said that the government should redraft the budget and that the opposition would be ready to go and vote for it.
Rama also proposed passing of a moratorium on banning wood forest cutting and exploitation of river beds for at least three years.
The government did nto seem to like that too. Rama told his lawmakers Tuesday that the preliminary calculation of the damage in the flooded area could be at least 260 million Euros.
Haxhinasto asks for aid from NATO member countries
TIRANA – Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto convened Sunday all ambassadors of the NATO member countries and more asking for emergency aid.
Haxhinasto said that Albanian authorities were more keen in having small boats, medicine and other minor stuff needed for the daily life of the evacuated people and also transport vehicles.
EU ready to help Albania
TIRANA – The European Union has created an emergency committee to discuss possible aid for Albania after floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espunty said assistance to Albania would continue. He expressed the EU good will of continuous assistance in such a calamity.
“Albania is a country close to us and we should help it with our means. It is two days since we have launched the mechanism for civil emergency. The European Commission has communicated with the member countries to assist the Albanian authorities to cope with such a catastrophe,” he said.
US ready to assist in emergency
TIRANA – US new Ambassador in Tirana Alexander Arvizu had his first working phone call to Prime Minister Sali Berisha offering Washington’s readiness to assist in the emergency situation in northwestern Albania.
Arvizu came to Albania last week and seems that dealing with Albania’s flooding will be his first formal issue to deal with.
Arvizu made the offer also when he met Berisha. Both assured of their countries’ efforts to further consolidate cooperation and ties between them.
Worst natural calamity in 150 years, says Berisha
SHKODRA – Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Tuesday said the situation was a grave one that was successfully being managed by the government authorities.
Food and water supply remained a top priority, he said and also urged them to get organized in order to get well supplied.
Berisha said that the political opposition had not to exploit the situation in order to “win political capital.”
Berisha announced a series of emergency projects like building the new Shkodra by-pass and also building many embankments to protect the city. The new by-pass will start in the first months next year.
Berisha also said they were negotiating with neighboring Montenegro on how to deepen the Buna river bed.
Evacuation still remains the top priority for the authorities.
Experts believe that the lack of care and inappropriate treatment of the country’s nature in general has resulted in such a grave calamity.
Berisha said Monday while speaking with his Democratic Party lawmakers that the government had made plans for a big project to deal with the reasons and causes of the natural calamity, or the Balkan flooding, as he called it.
