Floods throughout Kosovo, state of emergency in two municipalities

Several municipalities in Kosovo have been hit by flooding caused by heavy rain overnight and throughout the day on Tuesday. As a result, many homes and businesses have been flooded, while a state of emergency has been declared in two municipalities and the start of the second semester of school has been postponed.

Numerous municipalities in Kosovo have faced flooding, which was caused by heavy rainfall that fell overnight and throughout the day on Tuesday. 

As a result, many homes and businesses have been flooded, while a state of emergency has been declared in two municipalities and the start of the second semester of schooling has been postponed.

In the village of Fortesë in Rahovec, which is one of the most affected municipalities, waters have flooded the first floor of Fatmir Popaj's house, damaging almost all household appliances. 

"The floods started in the morning. So, that's when the water came in. No one was there to see us. We started cleaning and we're afraid that it will take us back (the water). From morning until 14:00 PM, we've been cleaning," he said.

Austrian immigrant Burim Popaj has also faced the consequences of the floods, and has criticized local authorities for the situation.

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"This is the fourth time since 2005. It's worrying, because every time it rains, we have to have raincoats. Other times (municipal authorities) came and helped some people," he said.

And the mayor of Rahovec, Smajl Latifi, has requested that citizens report any case that requires intervention.

"Currently, the situation has stabilized, because the rains have stopped. However, during the early morning, from midnight until around 11 o'clock, it was difficult. We had road collapses, we also had problems with KEDS," he said for KTV's "60 Minutes" show.

Latifi announced that due to the situation, the start of the second semester of classes in this municipality has been postponed until January 12th.

In Pristina, the mayor of the municipality, Përparim Rama, has announced that he has intervened in at least 40 cases, as a result of the floods. The situation is also serious in several villages of the Fushë-Kosovo Municipality. In the Gjakova municipality, several affected families have been evacuated, while the municipality has announced that it will provide accommodation in social housing for families in need of shelter.

In the municipality of Deçan, citizens have been urged to avoid endangered areas. The mayor of South Mitrovica, Faton Peci, said that the situation in this municipality is under control and is improving.

State of emergency in Malisheva and Junik

A serious flooding situation has been recorded in the Municipality of Malisheva. In the village of Bubavec, the waters have penetrated the ground floor of Demokrat Kryeziu's house. For this reason, he and other members of his family had to be evacuated with the help of firefighters.

After the evacuation, Kryeziu complained that the flood caused extensive material damage to his home, destroying almost everything on the first floor.

"The problem is that the water has been coming in since morning. We've had it since 5 or 6 o'clock, and we had to go upstairs, because the yard and the house below were completely filled with water. The children were scared, we called the firefighters. They pulled them (the children) out and sent them to the other brother," he said.

Firefighter Kujtim Morina described the operation to remove the family from the house as difficult.

"We are here in the village of Bubavec, we have evacuated the children. We have taken them to a safe place. It was very difficult, because they were in a panic," he said.

Flooding of houses has caused material damage to households. Bubavec resident Nuhi Kryeziu has called for compensation, complaining that this is not the first time he has faced the consequences of floods.

"Now, if they can't compensate us 100 percent for these damaged materials, then they need to compensate us with something, because the majority of us, the population, are in poverty," he said.

Businesses in this municipality have also suffered damage. The underground parking lot, in which the municipality had invested, was also flooded, and as a result, traffic was blocked there, while several cars were trapped inside.

Due to the current situation, the Municipality of Malisheva has declared a state of emergency and has decided to postpone the start of the second semester of classes.

"For the moment, the situation has started to calm down, as the water level in the Mirusha River has dropped, but the situation is serious, because the roads are blocked," said Artan Paçarizi, public communication officer in the Municipality of Malisheva. 

The Municipality of Junik has also declared a state of emergency, in which the start of classes has also been postponed until January 12.

Poklek, among the most affected villages in Drenas

Drenas is a municipality that has also been hit hard by heavy rainfall. The worst situation has been in three villages.

A large number of houses have been flooded in Poklek, which falls on the Drenica River. Emergency teams have managed to evacuate a number of citizens, but many others remain isolated.

Afrim Gjeli is the commander of the Fire Department in Drenas and he has been receiving calls to intervene non-stop throughout the day. He said that he received the first requests for help in the early hours of the morning, but the evacuations were carried out later, after a boat was provided by a citizen.

"At three in the morning we started with interventions. There were phone calls to our address to come to the aid of citizens where there was a danger to pedestrian movement, to vehicle traffic. We responded to every call we had the opportunity to. That is, from 8 in the morning we started going out to Poklek i Ri, to the area where we are now, to evacuate some families who remained in residential houses," he said.

Dozens of families have remained stranded in the "Pokleku" neighborhood, to which Florent Krasniqi went during the day from Malisheva, as among those isolated are his sister and her children.

"We have a family member nearby. He even sent us pictures of the flooding here. There were 80 centimeters there and we came to evacuate him, to give him help," he said.

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Gjeli emphasized that the most at-risk families were evacuated initially.

"We have set a certain priority. Those houses that were single-story, we have evacuated them. Now, we have started on the second floors," he emphasized.

In addition to Pokleku, the mayor of Drenas, Ramiz Lladrovci, said that houses in several other villages have also been flooded.

"Here, where you see Pokleku i Ri and Shtrubullova, they are most at risk, due to construction at water level, but also due to the closure of many atmospheric flows," he said.

And, the high water level has made the Drenas-Komoran road impassable, at the part where the main electricity transformer station is located. Electricity supply has been interrupted for most of the day, as the transformer station facility has also been flooded. Specialized teams from the Emergency Management Agency have intervened there.

Monitoring the situation

The floods have activated representatives of state institutions to intervene and monitor the situation. The one in Drenas was monitored by the acting Minister of Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi.

"We are doing everything possible so that there are no major consequences from these floods that are happening in some municipalities, such as here in Drenas, Malisheva, Rahovec and in some other municipalities. We are on the ground with all the economic operators engaged by our ministry, they are on the ground continuously, 24 hours a day, to help in any situation that is necessary," Durmishi emphasized.

He said that the greatest difficulties have been created on several local roads.

"We have the biggest problems in several places, where various citizens, through the construction they have done, have blocked the channels for treating atmospheric waters and this is causing us many problems. We are intervening with all capacities wherever necessary, to get through this situation as easily as possible," he stressed.

Acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, was in Malisheva. He said that the situation in this municipality has been brought under control and residents have been evacuated from the most endangered areas.

"Despite the difficulties, the teams in charge are successfully dealing with this phenomenon. Some of the residents have been evacuated, there are no human casualties. We are monitoring the situation," said Sveçla.

In the municipalities of Drenas, Malisheva and Rahovec, the electricity supply was temporarily interrupted during the day, as a safety measure due to water ingress into the electrical substation in Drenas. 

"4 10(20)/04 kV transformer stations remain out of operation in several locations, where due to the large accumulation of water and for safety reasons, intervention was not possible immediately," the KEDS announcement said.

And in that of the Hydrometeorological Institute (IHK), it was announced that the rainfall during January 3-5 has influenced the increase in the levels of rivers and streams.

"As a result of the continuous rainfall over the past few days, in some areas of the country, specifically in the western part (Gjakovë, Junik, Deçan, Malishevë, Rahovec, Klina, etc.), as well as in the central part, local floods have been caused. As a result, some rivers and streams have overflowed their beds," the Institute's announcement states, which also emphasizes that in the main rivers - Ibri, Sitnica, Lepenci, Morava and Binçës - there has been a "slight" increase in water levels.

The IHK has also warned that rainfall with intervals and varying intensity is expected in the coming days. In light of this situation, the National Institute of Public Health (IKSHPK) has called on citizens, especially those who use water from unprotected wells for drinking, to boil the water before using it.

"Currently, there is no data on water contamination. However, citizens who are supplied with water from unprotected wells (for safety reasons from a bacteriological point of view), are recommended to boil the water before use or to use alternative sources for safe water supply," the NIPHK announcement states.

reaction

State representatives and those of the parties previously in opposition reacted to the situation created by the floods on Tuesday.

President Vjosa Osmani has expressed gratitude to all institutions and citizens who, in the face of heavy rainfall and flooding, are reacting with responsibility, professionalism and solidarity in protecting life and property.

"Today, during the day, I have been in communication with the mayors of the affected municipalities, who are leading the management of the situation on the ground in close coordination and with the support of central institutions.

"The Emergency Management Agency is working tirelessly together with law enforcement agencies. I also thank the Kosovo Security Force for its full readiness to provide immediate support, making its human and logistical capacities available, if the need arises. The situation requires maximum caution. I call on citizens to show vigilance and strictly respect the instructions of the competent institutions. Close cooperation and professional response remain crucial for successfully dealing with this situation," she wrote on Facebook.

And the Democratic Party (PDK) has called on central institutions to take full responsibility, activating all state mechanisms in managing the emergency situation.

"Assistance to affected municipalities, families and businesses must be fast, fair and without unnecessary bureaucracy. At these moments, the absolute priorities must be the safety of citizens, the protection of life and property, and the fastest possible return to normality in the affected areas," the PDK response states.

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The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, has qualified the situation as a national emergency and has requested that central and local institutions multiply their efforts to cope with the situation.

"The situation created after the continuous rainfall, which has caused flooding in several areas of Kosovo, is extremely worrying. In some settlements, the evacuation of residents has also begun. I have contacted the mayors of municipalities from the Alliance, to be informed about the actions that the local government is taking to deal with this serious situation. It is a national emergency that the relevant institutions, both at the central and local levels, multiply their efforts and actions to deal with this situation," Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.