FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
If there is one thing that can be predicted in Albania, even easily, it is that in the north or south of the country, several hundred hectares of land will be underwater every late autumn and winter.
The government has responded to warnings from the World Bank that the country is at risk of even more flooding this year by slightly increasing the budget available to municipalities for irrigation and drainage. Next year, 61 local government units will be allocated nearly 1.2 billion lek, up from 1 billion this year.
But is 200 million more lek enough to manage the floods?
"There are many municipalities that cannot. You need a fleet of vehicles, which the municipalities do not have. It takes a lot of money to buy them. So in these cases, the municipalities should help each other," said Adelina Farrici, Director of the Association for Local Autonomy.
With the money available, the Ministry of Finance estimates that about 80 percent of the country's hydroelectric dams will be built or reconstructed, up from 75 percent this year.
"We as an association have requested more money because these measures are not enough to prevent floods," added Farrici.
Local government experts warn that in the absence of sufficient funds for prevention, more money will be spent from municipal budgets to compensate those affected by flooding.
"It's logical. Either work to prevent or you will pay the consequences, perhaps even at a higher cost," it further states.
Albania is the most exposed country in Europe to natural disasters. The World Bank database accounts for 38 percent of all civil emergencies/ A2CNN
Lini një Përgjigje