Heavy rains in the Balkans cause floods, which kill 6 people

Torrential rains in the Balkans over the past two days led to flooding that killed at least six people, prompted widespread evacuations and caused extensive damage, authorities said Monday.

One of the worst affected areas was in northwestern Albania, where thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of homes were flooded. Authorities evacuated dozens of families amid power outages.

Early Monday, police divers found the bodies of two missing men, a father and son, whose car was swept away Sunday in the village of Boge, about 90 miles north of the capital Tirana.

Swollen rivers in Montenegro and parts of Serbia claimed four lives over the weekend. A woman and her two children drowned in Montenegro when their car plunged into a river while crossing a bridge. In southern Serbia, a 2-year-old boy drowned after falling into a river.

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Authorities in the Raska region in southern Serbia declared a state of emergency due to heavy flooding and the army was deployed to help the local population with evacuations and deliveries of drinking water and food.

Torrential rain of up to 14 inches in 12 hours caused the Drini River, Albania’s longest, to overflow its banks by at least 4 inches on Sunday, authorities said.

At least 7,500 acres of agricultural land were flooded in Shkoder and Lezhe districts, about 60 miles northwest of Tirana.

A policeman looks at a flooded area near the city of Shkoder in northwestern Albania on November 21, 2022.

Hundreds of army troops were sent to evacuate families after more than 600 homes were flooded.

“Shkoder is currently isolated from the rest of the country,” said Mayor Bardh Spahia.

Farmers, who have repeatedly suffered floods in the post-communist era, expressed despair over their losses, which included livestock, and appealed to the government for help.

“We need the government’s help because the flood damage is very, very serious,” said Lina Zefi, 60, in the village of Kuc, less than 6 miles from Shkoder.

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The historic 18th-century lead mosque in Shkoder was also under water, after suffering damage from past floods.

Flooding also affected areas in western Kosovo, causing some damage to buildings and closing schools, but there were no casualties.