Hazard Identification Tool: Floods - Albania - 7 January 2009

FL-2009-000245-SRB

Objective

The objective of the Hazard Identification Tool (HIT) is to alert the United Nations Disaster Assessment (UNDAC) and other emergency responders as well as the UN Country Team to potential secondary risks after a natural disaster posed by large infrastructure and industrial facilities containing hazardous materials located in the affected area. This information can be shared with competent local and national authorities as appropriate. Any actual secondary risk should be addressed at the earliest possible stage.

Methodology of the HIT

The methodology of the HIT is based on the Flash Environmental Assessment Tool (FEAT), a rapid assessment methodology to identify the most acute hazards to human health and the environment after natural disasters. The HIT is compiled based on research using publicly available information sources and provides a list of "big and obvious" facilities and objects that may pose a risk to human health and life, as well as the natural environment. The list includes indications of the substances that are expected to be present in these facilities, as well as the hazard types associated with these substances and related estimated impact types. Wherever the (expected) location of a facility could be identified, this information has been filled into the first column of the HIT. If the facility is expected to be present, but no location could be identified, this has been indicated. Whenever the location field has been left blank, it is not expected that these facilities are present in the country.

Event

The Government of Albania declared a state of emergency on 7 January 2010, following heavy rainfall during November and December 2009 which caused water levels in the lakes and on the Drini River to rise, flooding the Shkodra and Lezha regions. Reportedly more than 1200 buildings/houses (some partially) and 9000ha farmland are flooded. The Interior Ministry reports on massive evacuations in the villages of Gur i Zi and Dajc communes. Meanwhile some 2500 people have been so far evacuated from the affected zones. This HIT covers mainly the Shkodra (highly industrialized) and Lezha regions.