Photo courtesy of AFP and AljazeeraLast week was an interesting one as I had my first experience with flooding and its effects on Albanian infrastructure. On Friday, I planned on making the 4 hour trip to Lezhë for the weekend. A friend of mine was visiting from Budapest and we planned on meeting in Lezhë and hanging out with the volunteers there for a bit, then going to Peshkopi before he needed to head back.
Over the course of the last week, a combination of severe rain and dams in Montenegro and Macedonia letting out water due to said rains flooded portions of coastal Albania. These rains also caused landslides and additional flooding in other parts of the country due to lack of drainage infrastructure. I didn't really know how bad it was outside of the most affected areas (Shkodër and Fushë Kruja) until I made my trip - I should note now that my town and region are relatively mountainous and were not affected by flooding and experienced only minimal effects from the rains. I left at 8 in the morning via the scheduled morning bus to Tiranë. The trip was fine, though I noticed a higher-than-normal level of water in the rivers. As soon as the bus arrived in Burrel (halfway between Tiranë and Peshkopi), I started to notice that the rains had been taking some effect. Water was pouring down the hill that climbs into town, bringing pebbles, trash, and other debris along with it. As drainage ditches were either overflowing or non-existent, most of this came down the road. In Burrel, the storm drains were completely full, to the point that water was gushing out of them. Many roads were covered with water - some even covering the sidewalks - but traffic was not really slowed by this. The first real delay in the trip was just outside Burrel, where drainage from a nearby hill concentrated itself and covered the road, bringing with it rocks, mud, trash, and so forth. There were a few cars that had gotten themselves stuck in this, blocking the road. Somehow, the initial culprits were able to make an escape, and traffic flowed for a short period. Right before the bus was to make its attempt, however, two more cars got stuck and therefore so did we for the time being. One, and after a while two, local tractors were hired to clear the road, and after some time of watching them move loads of debris, we were free to go once again.
The remaining part of the trip, from this east-west road until the north-south road to Kukës and Kosovë was uneventful until about 200-300 yards before the entrance to the road. I was excited to get to this road, because i knew that once there, I only had about another 15 minutes on the bus before my turnoff for Lezhë. My spirits plummeted, however, once reaching this crucial 200-300 yards, when I saw that it was completely flooded.
A nearby river sits significantly lower than this portion, so much so that one wouldn't really consider having to worry about it becoming flooded (a partially build house right in the middle of it all is a testament to this theory).
There were three furgons in front of the bus and two decided to go for it - in my head I was strongly encouraging the third driver to go as well because the bus probably would have followed them. As the vans got about 1/3 of the way through their fording, the leader of the two partially drove off of the road, his vehicle slowly tilting to maybe a 45 degree angle and becoming like an iceberg, with an unrepresentative portion remaining above the floodwater. Luckily, it wasn't completely engulfed and the passengers were able to escape the driver's window with the help of an excavator sent for the stranded. The second van did not suffer the same fate, and instead merely got stuck and died since it could not proceed.
There were probably 50-60 people stranded on my side, including the bus and other furgons on their way to Tiranë and other destinations. Luckily for us, the floodwater had not cut us off completely, and we were able to circumnavigate it by foot through a nearby patch of waterlogged land. Luckily for me, I only had a relatively light backpack, and i was able to cross several ditches and pockmarked stretches while staying dry. I felt bad for all the passengers with heavy bags and/or high-heels, who suffered a different fate. While we worked our way around the water, we passed people who were heading east, but were also stranded at the turnoff. Once reaching the highway (raised well above the water), I competed with the other 50-60 individuals vying for a seat in a furgon (many of these vans were the ones who initially were heading east, but were unable to do so). I ended up catching a ride to my desired turnoff as it was getting dark and had started to rain more heavily. This ride was short and I still had some daylight left with which to get another ride to my destination 12km away.
When I got to the turnoff, I saw a driver who had previously refused me a ride, even though I was going the same direction and it appeared as if he had space. I had walked past his van and said something like "I'm only going to Milot (the turnoff for Lezhë). can you take me there?" and he said "Shkodër, Shkodër" while leaving me behind. Going with him on the way to Shkodër would have been even better because it would have taken me directly to my destination. Either way, I ended up at my desired turnoff only to see this driver stopped, calling another driver to take his passengers to Shkodër, and leaving them there. I ended up catching a ride shortly thereafter. The trip ended up taking nine hours instead of four, but I arrived relatively dry - though incredibly hungry - and safe.
The floodwater has since gone down and the roads are fine for travel. There is extensive damage due to the flooding and many families were evacuated from their homes. All volunteers are safe, and in my opinion, Peace Corps did a good job of keeping us informed.
Now, instead of rain, I am expecting snow, or at least drastically colder temperatures. The "winter" here in my mountain town has consisted of a oddly cold October, followed by a warm, sunny November, and a cloudy, yet warm (weather in the 60s) December. This is soon to change, as Friday is supposed to be in the mid-30s (Friday night dropping to the teens). For me, this means that my house will be several degrees colder than outside temperatures and I best have all the wood necessary - next to my stove and ready to go.
When I returned to Peshkopi, the approximately 170km trip took the usual 4-5 hours.
