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| Flooding in the sub-Shkodra area |
Even during this Thursday, the situation continued to deteriorate in most of the territory of Albania due to heavy rains, accompanied by storms.
Local authorities report damage to road infrastructure and the electricity distribution network as well as flooding, mainly in the plain area of Shkodra and Lezha.
The Minister of Defense, Niko Peleshi, warned of a further deterioration of the situation today and in the future, until January 21, when the peak of rainfall is also predicted.
"Today, it is predicted that there will be an increase in flows in the rivers Drin, Buna, Mat, and Vjosë. As a result, it is expected that there will be more flooding in the part of Nënshkodra and the peripheral areas of the city of Shkodra in the vicinity of the lake. "There will be an increased risk of flooding today and tomorrow in River Vjosë," he said.
Minister Peleshi repeated the request to the local units for monitoring the situation and preparing the necessary capacities in case of evacuation of residents from the endangered areas.
Due to the created situation, the Ministry of Education announced today the suspension of classes in 56 schools of the country, mainly in Shkodër, Lezhë and Tropoja.
The increase in water flows from the Drin, Buna, Kir, and Gjadër rivers, accompanied by the increase in discharges from the Vau Dejës Hydropower Plant, is rapidly expanding the flood map in the Nënshkodra area, mainly in Oblikë, Obot, Muriqan and Suka of Dajçit.
"So, we have about 1,000 hectares of land flooded with water for two days. Today, Oboti road is also blocked. The village of Muriqan remains problematic, which has over 400 ha flooded in the districts of Goricë, Kurtalija and Xhaka, which also have many greenhouses", says the administrator of the "Ana e Malit" unit, Arben Cemi.
The rains, accompanied by strong storms, have damaged many road segments, mainly in the mountainous areas in the north of the country, as well as the electricity distribution network.
"Storms and rains, with very heavy rainfall, have caused great damage to the Electricity lines of the OSHE company, which distributes electricity. Measures have been taken, and we have been able, to restore electricity. If yesterday we had electricity outages for 6600 subscribers, today we reached almost 800 subscribers. Electricity has been restored to the rest", says the regional director of OSHE, Armand Zhuka.