Albanian bloggers discuss alleged mismanagement in flood response

22/01/2010

In the wake of devastating floods, bloggers and prosecutors wonder whether the government could have done more.

By Manjola Hala for Southeast European Times in Tirana – 22/01/10

An18th century mosque flooded in the village of Bacallek, 120km northwest of Tirana. [Getty Images]

Torrential rains last month caused significant flooding throughout Albania's northwest Shkoder and Lezhe regions, forcing the evacuation of over 5,000 people.

While the government congratulated itself on handling the emergency, the country's opposition party said reducing energy levels at hydropower plants in response to the crisis was a mistake that increased flooding.

The prosecutor general's office is investigating possible mismanagement in the hydroelectric plants/dams during the downpours. It is reviewing technical rules for opening the gates of a hydroelectric plant's reservoir, as well as checking water levels in the reservoirs when the gates were opened.

As the floods expanded -- lasting through the middle of January, particularly along the Drin River on which three key hydroelectric power plants are located -- the government scrambled to respond.

Albania declared a state of emergency and provided student dormitories for many of the evacuated while others were sheltered by friends and relatives. As floodwaters retreated people returned home, and the government began assessing damage while assuring all affected families that they will be compensated for their losses.

"It has been a successful humanitarian operation which will be marked in history," Prime Minister Sali Berisha said. The World Bank mission to Albania agreed, calling the emergency's management efficient.

Though opinion is divided, many bloggers say government mismanagement contributed to flooding.

davidd speaks for the majority, saying "if the water gates were opened two weeks in advance, there would not have been these floods."

But shigjeta said the events could not have been predicted. "Was someone able to foresee last summer the floods in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, or Turkey?" she asks. "Or was the cold winter that has plagued different countries possible to avoid?"

Solidarnosc called the sequence of events a natural disaster. "The government can be blamed only if it did not respond to the disaster to help the citizens, but it did," he explained.

Not so, argues canart1975, emphasising the government's responsibility is to prevent disasters and "not to carry out funeral services". He adds "opening the water gates of the hydroelectric power plant is a planned action in order to avoid causing floods."

Boy is convinced that if the government had followed the plants' technical rules, flooding could have been avoided. "The water flux is lower in comparison to the year before," he says. "What happened is a mistake ... to gain more money."

As someone familiar with all parts of the affected areas, where he worked for years, BEHARI said that historically, they have been threatened by floods. "The problem is what and how the government should do to prevent floods."

"The times have changed, the economy and technology have moved forward. In short, intervention in these areas is indispensible for not having floods in the future," BEHARI added.

Finally, Pjer Thomas argues that what happened speaks volumes of "how incompetent our politicians are to handle grave situations". He believes that while the opposition also would have failed. "Our administration is at the lowest levels of competency."