Denada Jushi
Albania, in one week, faced the (un)expected weather, but not only that, causing damage and difficult situations for dozens of families and citizens of the country.
The first snowfall in the country did not pass without problems, from village blockades, to road collapses, to power outages.
The newly built Burrel ring road has become inoperable. This collapse has made it impossible to use this road. Vehicles are now forced to pass through the city.
There are concerns about secondary roads in Tropoja and Kukës. In Shkodra, the "Bogë-Qafë Thore-Theth" road segment has been blocked due to the risk of avalanches, while vehicle traffic is not allowed at night.
At Qafë e Vishë, rock slides from the mountainside forced authorities to temporarily block traffic.
On the national axis connecting Tepelena to Gjirokastra, for several days now, traffic has been limited to one lane, due to continuous landslides near the area called "Shkalla e Zezë".
In the Korça area, the Qukës-Qafë Plloçë road has remained unusable since a rock massif slid four days ago.
In some areas, due to snow and in other areas due to flooding, many villages and regions have been left without electricity.
The weather situation in the Berat region has caused 10 villages in the Potom Administrative Unit in Skrapar to be without electricity.
Strong winds have left 10 villages without electricity since this morning: Backë, Gjergjovë, Koprencë, Gërmenj, Visockë, Qafë Helms, Melskë, Nikollarë, Dyrmish and Staraveckë.
Likewise, in the Korça Region, problems related mainly to electricity supply and road infrastructure continue, as a result of weather conditions.
The same problems also appear in the north of the country.
The villages of Bilaj and Mulqin are under water, while a good part of the area has been without electricity for 48 hours, due to a high-voltage pole that crosses the Ishëm River and whose wires are caught between trees. The fall of trees has caused the breakdown of power lines, leaving residents without electricity in low temperatures.
The most pronounced problems are reported in the Malësi e Madhe Municipality, where, in addition to the lack of energy, snowfall has blocked entire villages.
Although the rain has temporarily stopped, hundreds of hectares are under water across the country.
Families who are faced with the mud left behind by the rain in their homes and with bills for economic damages, for which there is still no estimate from the government of how much it will cost the state budget.
Floods in Albania over the last three decades have caused around $2,5 billion in economic damage, without bringing any criminal liability to the institutions that administer the water system and emergency management.
These data come from a detailed audit by the Supreme State Audit Office, which highlights long-term negligence in the maintenance of drainage channels, lack of effective flood risk management, and failure to adapt policies to climate conditions, in violation of the law on civil protection.
Since 1990, Albania has experienced at least eight severe floods, affecting tens of thousands of families and destroying homes, agricultural land and infrastructure from Shkodra and Lezha to Vjosa and Vlora.
Despite the extent of the damage, the justice system has only opened two investigations, one closed without criminal liability and the other still in process, without suspects. Also, this year the Durrës Prosecution Office has launched investigations for 3 offenses: “Abuse of office”, “Destruction of property by flooding” and “Destruction of property by negligence”.
This year too, experts say, the bill will be huge, so Albania urgently needs to invest more in measures to cope with possible natural disasters.
As if that weren't enough, on Thursday evening in the capital a massive fire engulfed 50 warehouses and endangered nearby buildings. Dozens of small businesses, in the blink of an eye, lost all their capital, leaving them on the streets, with no future. A colossal economic loss for them.
The acting chairwoman, Anuela Ristani, said that this concerns textile businesses and that there will be a moment for the balance sheet and identification of the damages that have occurred.
"The damage is voluminous. We cannot speak in advance, as there is a process," she said.
And while the calculation of these huge bills for the events that have occurred in less than five days is awaited, these situations clearly showed once again that Albania is not prepared to face such situations.acqj.al
