Torrential rains in the Balkans over the past two days have led to flooding that has killed at least six people, prompted widespread evacuations and caused significant damage, authorities said on Monday.
One of the hardest hit areas was northwestern Albania, where thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of homes were flooded. Authorities have evacuated dozens of families due to power outages.
Early Monday, police divers found the bodies of two missing men, a father and son whose car was swept over on Sunday in the village of Boge, about 90 miles north of the capital Tirana.
Flooding rivers in Montenegro and parts of Serbia claimed four lives over the weekend. A woman and her two children drowned in Montenegro when their car plunged into a river as she was crossing a bridge. In southern Serbia, a 2-year-old boy drowned after falling into a river.
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The authorities in the southern Serbian region of Raska have declared a state of emergency due to heavy flooding and the army has been deployed to help the local population with evacuations and deliveries of drinking water and food.
Torrential rain of up to 14 inches in 12 hours on Sunday caused the Drini River, the longest in Albania, to overflow by at least 4 inches, according to authorities.
At least 7,500 acres of farmland have been flooded in Shkodër and Lezhe districts, about 60 miles northwest of Tirana.
A policeman checks a flooded area near the city of Shkodër in northwestern Albania November 21, 2022.
Hundreds of army troops were sent to evacuate families after more than 600 homes were flooded.
“Shkoder is currently isolated from the rest of the country,” Mayor Bardh Spahia said.
Farmers, who have repeatedly suffered from floods in the post-communist era, have expressed despair at their losses, including their livestock, and have asked the government for help.
“We need government assistance because the damage caused by the floods is very, very serious,” said Lina Zefi, 60, in the village of Kuc, less than 6 miles from Shkodër.
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The historic 18th-century Lead Mosque in Shkodër was also submerged, having suffered damage from past floods.
The floods also affected areas in western Kosovo, causing some damage to buildings and the closure of schools, but no fatalities.
