Government again gets ready to cope with flooding

TIRANA, Feb. 24 – Following heavy rain and snow in the northern part of the country the government made plans to get ready in case of an emergency evacuation in the Shkodra district.
Water flow at the Drini River had gone up to 3,000 cubic meters and the water levels at the three hydropower stations were reaching the highest level.
First, authorities started to discharge water from the Vau I Dejes and Koman power stations but it was likely they would immediately start the same thing at Fierza.
Thousands of hectares of agriculture land are already flooded in the Shkodra communes.
Emergency, police and army forces are already deployed in Shkodra ready to get involved in evacuation and other emergency operations.
Some schools in the flooded communes were closed Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha immediately convened the cabinet and the emergency committee resumed its work.
In early January this year some 11,400 hectares of land and some 4,200 houses were flooded.
The government was making plans of paying restitution to the residents of the area after making calculations. It said the total damage of the houses and appliances was about 1,000 euro per house.
Much of the grave situation created recently also depends on the water discharge from Ohrid Lake. FYROM authorities opened its gates after water there reached high levels.
The high water level of the Ohrid Lake could destroy the international road to Albania in the region of Sveti Naum, Ohrid mayor Alexander Petreski told FOCUS News Agency.
The water has destroyed part of the road to Sveti Joan Kaneo, where the Bridge of Sorrow is destroyed.
“Floods have occurred in Skandear and they have asked us not to open the dam gates of the lake for too long. This has happened over a month ago-now the situation is normal, but the problem here remains,” Petreski said.
On his words the gates to the Lake dam had to be opened in September so as not to overflow due to the rains and the snow-melt.
In other parts in Albania many national roads and more rural ones were temporarily blocked from snow, ice or mud slides.