TIRANA, Feb. 6 – This week’s heavy downpour throughout the country caused severe mudslides in Gjirokastà«r, risking the collapse of a building, several houses and a street segment.
Local authorities evacuated residents from their houses and called geology experts to help with the situation, as the area has undergone an excessive building process in the last years.
People were inside their houses when a big amount of dirt from the mudslide got into their houses during the night.
One of the building’s resident told local media this was the result of unplanned construction and lack of expert consultation.
All constructions affected by the mudslide were built on a hillside allegedly reported to be unstable.
Mayor of Gjirokastra Zamira Rami said she expects an experts’ report on this case of emergency.
“First we have to wait for the team of geology experts we sought since last night, and then based on their evaluation of the risk level for the buildings and houses affected, we will take the appropriate steps,” Rami first told local media.
Following up, Rami made a request to Prime Minister Edi Rama to declare a partly extraordinary situation for Gjirokastra for other downpour damages, such as the complete isolation of the Zhularat village and its population, a high risk of destruction for 40 houses and an archeological site due to the overflow of rivers, as well as damages on roads linked with the country’s main highway.
According to Rami, Gjirokastà«r’s hilly areas were showing signs of possible mudslide occurence lately due to the frequent and heavy downpours the country has undergone in the last months.
In this context, she said the entirety of Gjirokastà«r’s hilly area is in need of a geological report and action plan supported by the government, as the costs for all these issues cannot be handled by the municipality’s budget.
Preliminary calculation estimate the government’s monetary help towards Gjirokastra should mount to several million dollars.
Before the 1990’s mass constructions, the above-mentioned hilly area was a forest whose sedimentary compilation was deemed risky for construction of high buildings.
A 200-year-old bridge in the Zagori Valley declared a first-class cultural inheritance sight also collapsed this week despite constant warnings from citizens for the protection of the bridge, according to local media.
