Following Wednesday’s unusually heavy downpour and two-hour lightning storm, one death and countless hectares of crops have been identified as the casualties.
After several weeks of temperatures soaring to 37 degrees, two hours of heavy rain pummelled the country on Thursday afternoon. The accompanying lightning storm killed a man in the village of Dedaj after lightning hit his home, causing a short circuit and a fire.
A second man was found dead in the sea at Vlora shortly after the storm but it has not yet been determined if this was due to the inclement weather.
Many cities throughout the country were flooded and in the capital of Tirana, the Lana River in the centre of the city, burst its banks. Roads were flooded throughout the centre including Myslym Shyri, Kavaja, and the roads on either side of the river. Large portions of Selita were also underwater.
Authorities switched off electricity in several districts until the flooding subsided and traffic came to a standstill while bad conditions persisted.
In Saranda in the south, lightning caused damage to a residential apartment block. Farmers in the southeast and central parts of the country now face struggles as the rain drowned their spring and early summer crops.
