Rough weather lashes Albania

TIRANA, Jan. 5 – Hundreds of Albanians were evacuated from northwestern Albania which has been flooded by heavy rain and the discharge from water reservoirs at hydro power stations. Many others remained or turned back to their flooded homes fearing theft.
Local authorities were assisted by army and police in evacuating people from thousands of hectares of flooded areas in the Drini River delta which shelters three power plants producing the bulk of the country’s electricity needs.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha called on people to help authorities and leave the area, fearing more heavy rain was expected in the days to come.
“We are really on the brink of a real catastrophe. Our duty and appeal is urgent evacuation so that no human life is lost,” Berisha said while visiting Shkodra.
People in flooded areas were resisting the call for evacuation fearing theft of their houses.
The Interior Ministry has warned of forceful evacuation if the situation gets worse.
Authorities said the situation got worse due to high tides of the Adriatic Sea.
Residents say there has been considerable damage to private property, agriculture land and livestock.
No human losses or injuries have been reported.
In a separate incident a 4-wheel drive car slid and fell off the cliff in the Mat area killing the driver and seriously injuring two other travelers
Heavy rain and snow Tuesday also temporarily blocked many other areas in the country.
Many communes in the northeast and southeast of the country were affected blocked by the heavy snow and ice covering those regions.
The storm is also threatening record electricity production. During the storm, the country was producing 28.8 million kWh and using some 23 million kWh, according to Energy Minister Dritan Prifti.
A day earlier the KESH said they were exporting 11.5 million kWh, a new record.
The bulk of the electricity production is at the Drini River which has been threatening to overflow its banks due to recent heavy rains.
Strong winds and torrential rains have also temporarily blocked sea transport in Durres and Vlora ports.
The government has declared an emergency situation since last Saturday in the Shkodra and Lezha region because of floods that were caused by torrential rains.
They also ordered the evacuation of people from some parts of the area. The evacuated people will be accommodated in hotels and student dormitories and will be provided with food and clothing. That directive found resistance from farmers fearing their houses would be robbed if left alone.
Authorities were pressing daily; fearing heavier rain could spark a catastrophe. Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli have repeatedly called on the people to leave the area.
Thousands of hectares of agriculture land have been flooded in these two districts.
Many other areas in Shkodra city and Lezha were also flooded.
Still, many resisted the government’s calls for evacuation. They fear not only looting but also don’t believe the government’s promise of compensation.
Army troops were deployed in all these areas to help people evacuate.
Authorities said the reason for all this was rough weather, heavy rain and high tides in the Adriatic Sea. The premier also blamed global warming.
Local media also reported that due to the discharge of the Drini waters some areas in neighboring Montenegro were flooded.
The opposition also directly blamed the government for ‘stealing’ the money they had allocated for building or rehabilitating barriers for the Drini River delta area.
Likewise the government and its politicians reacted, first mentioning that when the Socialists were in power they had not told people about the water discharge possibilities.