The rainfall of the first week of 2026 brought massive flooding to several cities in the country, revealing the deep crisis of emergencies and urban planning in Albania. Durrës, Lezha and Gjirokastra exhibited the most problematic situations.
The floods and overflowing streams exposed the malfunctioning of sewage systems, the chaos of construction, and the lack of long-term planning in the face of the more erratic tendencies of a natural phenomenon like rain.
""Failure" of the sewers
Areas such as Spitalla, Nishtulla and the former swamps were the most problematic in the municipality of Durrës, while main roads became impassable with hundreds of houses under water.
The municipality suspended classes in most schools, while there was a traffic jam from the Mausoleum of the Martyrs to the New Durrës area.
"So far, 10 families have been evacuated, with 3-4 members each, who have been settled near the Kovališćenja," said the Durrës municipality in an official communication on social networks.
The water also covered the prison road, the Shkozet area and the Durrës-Tirana highway, where there was also a power outage. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense stated that it had deployed 23 forces and 8 vehicles from the Civil Emergency Support Base on the ground.
But, in addition to Durrës, an emergency situation was also declared in Gjirokastër. The stone city was overwhelmed by the flooding waters of the Fiço stream.
The streets were flooded with water and debris. Images shared by citizens on social media showed an unprecedented situation, with power outages, cars being swept away by the water, roads impassable, and many shops and houses flooded.
In Lezha, the situation was similar: flooded roads and about 1,000 hectares of land under water. Authorities reported rising levels of the Drin and Mat rivers.
In Kukës, problems were reported with the road system, with flooding and landslides in several segments such as Kukës-Shishtavec, Kukës-Bushtricë, Kukës-Qafë Mali and the Tropojë-Ferzë-Qafë Mali axis.
The increase in the Drin River flows has led to controlled discharges from the Koman and Vau i Dejës hydroelectric power plants.
There was also heavy rainfall in Vlora, while in the village of Vajzë, landslides damaged the main road and two homes.
The situation has also been problematic in Southeastern Albania. In Pogradec, there was a significant increase in the water level in the Starova and Vërdova rivers. While in rural areas of Pogradec, streams have overflowed their banks.
On the Qukës-Qafë Plloçë road, at the entrance to the tunnel, a landslide hit a car that was passing by at that moment. There were no injuries.
According to the Institute of Geosciences (IGJEO), intense rainfall is expected throughout Wednesday, mainly in the north and south of the country.
"In the regions of Shkodër, Kukës, Dibër, Lezhë, Durrës, Elbasan, Vlorë and Gjirokastër, there may be flash floods of small mountain rivers and landslides," the Institute said.
"In urban areas, localized flooding problems may occur in these districts, depending on the condition of the sewers," The IGJEO announcement continued, emphasizing that in areas above 1,000 m altitude, there would be snowfall.
Blame the rainfall, "orphan" responsibility
The paralyzed situation across the country once again brought into focus the crisis of urban planning and development in major cities.
The Together Movement shared an analysis by hydrotechnical engineer Llambion Dhimitri, who explained why the floods in Durrës are not a natural phenomenon. This political force blamed the events on "government negligence" and "investments in facades and decorative squares for propaganda".
“[…] while abandoning the basic urban infrastructure that keeps cities functional”, emphasized Dhimitri in his statement.
According to the engineer, Durres is a city "designed for the rain of the '70s", while urbanization has significantly increased the surface runoff coefficient, without changing the collectors.
"The secondary channels have been filled in, or disappeared by construction. The manholes function as decoration, not as a hydraulic element. There is no system of reservation or diversion of peak flows.", said Dimitri further.
Prime Minister Rama also reacted to the situation on platform X, relativizing the situation with the rainfall experienced in the region.
"I don't understand why they're not blaming me [...] for the suffocating rains of these days in Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and so on," Rama wrote, ironizing the opposition's approach as "alliance with the rain".
The issue of flooding has been addressed in Citizens.al with a long and analytical article. The situation is such that authorities are faced with extreme weather "in the dark", without the proper warning and management tools and logistics.
According to the World Bank, Albania is among the countries most at risk in Europe from natural disasters. 95% of municipalities are vulnerable and have experienced flooding, fires, earthquakes or landslides in the last two decades.
The national meteorological and hydrological observation system is suffering from investment shortages. IGJEO has told Citizens.al that the number of meteorological stations has dropped from 116 in 2014 to 95 in 2025.
Without a real-time warning and monitoring system, floods will not simply be "weather episode", but symptoms of an approach that only follows the crisis and cannot prevent it.
The decision to ignore gaps in measurement networks, institutional coordination, and warning capacities leaves society at the mercy of fate in the face of extreme phenomena. The same applies to investment in and expansion of the emergency system.
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Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
