TIRANA, Oct 8 /ATA/- By Maela Marini/ “Prime Minister Edi Rama, in a meeting with mayors, addressed the floods in Vlora and called on all municipalities to improve the restructuring of the relevant staff in cases of response to civil emergencies.”
“While making reference to the flooding situations caused by downpour in other developed countries as well, the Prime Minister emphasized that ‘no matter how efficient the disaster resilience infrastructure is, it cannot withstand the first shock.'”
“However, according to him, the structures must be ready to mobilize on the ground at the first moment of response.”
“It is a fact that all countries have to cope with wildfires in the summer and floods in the autumn, spring, and winter. The nature of these disasters has changed and continues to change every year. We saw what happened in Austria, and we saw what happened in Bosnia where many people lost their lives, and where the damage and the extent of the open wounds there are staggering,” said Rama.
According to him, ‘there is a simple explanation beyond the popular and biased analyses regarding the floods, which is that the patterns of precipitation have changed.'”
“‘Not long ago, an unprecedented flood occurred in Dubai, where in the span of 18 hours, an amount of downpour equivalent to four consecutive months of rain in London fell. There is no flood resilience infrastructure, no matter how effective it may be, that can withstand the first shock,’ emphasized Rama.”
However, the Prime Minister emphasized that what should not be underestimated is the weakness in our response at the local level, whether for wildfires or for floods.”
“‘When it comes to floods, it is essential to have a special focus on the organization of the structure, training, capacity building, and exercise of all the structures that must be ready to mobilize on the ground as part of the first response.”
“The Prime Minister emphasized that coordination and efficiency of interaction with the central government structures must be increased.”
“He cited Italy as an example, which is one of the leading countries in the field of civil emergencies, with a network of personnel on standby that includes reservists.”
“Rama also underlined the necessity of training for the individuals engaged in the open communication lines where citizens seek help.”
/sm/
