Heavy damage in Albania as floods hit the country

 Continuous heavy rainfalls that hit Albania has forced many people to evacuate their homes and caused considerable damage, as local authorities announced that more than 600 families have been evacuated from the flooded areas, and around 1,000 others have had their houses damaged.

The Albanian Embassy here said in a press release today that two human victims were reported.

It quoted the Directorate General of Civil Emergencies in Albania as saying that the situation is improving now, as 324 business facilities were damaged seriously, and about 50,000 livestock and birds are dead.

Relevant state institutions and operation forces including military forces, police, firefighter personnel, Albanian Red Cross, volunteers, have been activated in consequence management operations, it said.

On February 13, a EUCP team was deployed in site to assess the situation in the affected areas of Southern Albania mainly in Fier and Vlora regions. A number of EU member states including Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria and Slovakia have so far responded to the request for assistance of Albania and have offered financial donations and in kind help, it added.

Donations were offered by the neighboring countries like Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Turkey and Bosnia, however, further humanitarian support is needed, it mentioned.

The unstable weather forecast in the upcoming weeks is making the situation more fragile, it said.