Empty, funerals and sadness: Chronicles From a City After Tragedy

After the search of all the ruins in Durres and Thumma teams wanted rescue ended their work.

“From the ruins were recovered 51 victims through operations, attended by 250 effective rescue seekers from Albania, Kosovo, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Romania, North Macedonia, the US”, the Defence Ministry suggested today.

Rescue search operations were shut down, doing an extraordinary, heroic job for four days. They took out 41 survivors while the earthquake injured 913 people.

Saturday (30.11) has also brought the first victim of the earthquake to Tirana, which today passed away at Trauma Hospital from the wounds sustained during the 26 November earthquake.

Post Earthquake German Model

Sadness, pain and destruction reign this weekend in Durres and Thumana. Those left alive are organizing funerals for the recent escort of loved ones who were affected by the earthquake, where even the country's highest authorities are present in last farewell honour.

The weekend finds the coastal city of Durres, normally lively, silent, and empty. Fears of subsequent earthquakes have led residents to flee to other safe cities, where they have relatives and friends; some have gone to neighbouring countries, mainly in Italy and Greece, where they have immigrant family members, with economies already consolidated for more than 25 years.

Ruins of earthquake - collapsed buildings are still intact. They have been added to the new collapses of damaged buildings, which risk falling since Friday (29.11) and may continue in the coming days. Tonels with concrete plates, iron bars, with the arsenal of living in former apartments of missing families are external, visible evidence of disaster.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the government's meeting, 30.11), said that the German model of creating ecological zones could be followed.

„The German have created mountains with inerts, which have called memory hills, adding a green size to completely destroyed areas. We should prepare a plan for this in co-operation with foreign architects”, Prime Minister Rama said, media in Albania report.

In the face of upbuilding justice and super abusive vision.

Verification of palaces and buildings that collapsed in the November 26th earthquake, causing 50 victims and major material damage, has brought to light that they belong to construction after 1990.

Paradoxically, construction in the early 1990s has resulted in stable and earthquake-free. This fact clearly states that construction companies, which grew up as cobblers after rain in about three decades post-communist decades of high profit margins, have abused the use of European codes, binding for protection from the earthquake.

Criminally, abusive companies have used low levels of concrete and iron to spend less and more profits.

Along with such builders, a chain of other abusers -- super-visors and municipals -- who have made a blind eye and a deaf ear -- when more floors have been added than municipal permission, making the building vulnerable to earthquakes.

Prime Minister Rama said at the government meeting that abusers will be brought to justice.

For those who build for profit sanctions will be terrible and without space for judges. Prison for Supervisors, architects, builders that abuse. The architects not denouncing the builders who deformise the project will be sentenced to”, Prime Minister Rama stressed.