Earthquake in Albania: In damage to 6 thousand palaces and dwellings, 9,000 people affected

Close to 9,000 are citizens whose dwellings were affected and damaged. Several dozen schools in Tirana, Durres, Lezha and Elbasan require intervention before learning resumes. As damage assessment follows. President Ilir Meta announced today that he has decided to call the meeting of the National Security Council tomorrow.

There is still no final balance of damage caused by Tuesday's powerful earthquake, which hit Durres, Thummana and Tirana severely, but did not leave the country's other cities intact.

The data follows an update, but the early morning features of 640 buildings and 45,000 damaged dwellings, of which 371 palaces and about 2,500 heavily damaged dwellings.

In Durres the number results lower, but only because this is where the verification process has started late, while the first days of attention was focused on people left under the rubble. In this city, there are currently 185 buildings and some 7300 damaged dwellings, of which 38 palaces yesterday were heavily affected.

Groups of foreign experts called by the government are continuing to come to help in the process of technical assessment of buildings, while the buildings that are about to fall are starting to collapse by authorities, as was the case of a hotel in Durres today.

So far, it turns out there are close to 9,000 citizens affected by the earthquake. More than 2300 are housed in hotels with which the government has agreed, while more than 4400 others have been sheltered near their relatives. Over 900 residents are still in tents set up by authorities in several municipalities, while over 800 have chosen social centres.

The damage also affected the schools, where, according to what he referred to today's government meeting, Education Minister Besa Sahini are 52 in Tirana, Durres, Elbasan and Lezha, where it is necessary to intervene before it can resume learning. The minister later announced that a few more days will follow in the affected cities: “in Durres County, municipalities, Durres, Shijak and Kruja, the lesson remains suspended until December 9th. In Tirana County, which includes the Tirana municipalities, Vora, Kamaz, Kavaj and Rrogozhina, as well as in the Lezha County, Lezha, Kurbin and Mirday, the lesson will be suspended by December 5th, but maintain the opportunity to postpone it and several other days unless we are guaranteed that they are in a safe structural situation”

To discuss the situation created by President Ilir Meta, he announced today that he has decided to call the National Security Council meeting, specifying that schedule will be determined depending on the situation.

At today's morning meeting, Prime Minister Edi Rama reiterated the invitation for the opposition to sit down together to give a signal of unity and calm to citizens.

A day earlier, Democrat President Lulzim Basha asked about this invitation said “now is not the time for either politics or propaganda. The only thing we're dealing with is being close to people, and that's what everybody else has to do.”

But according to Mr. Rama “I don't understand what it means to sit at the table and the entire representation of the chosen people in this country is propaganda. The propaganda is to leave people in uncertainty when you are able to do more and while talking about things belonging to others, it belongs to people on the ground”, he said during the government meeting, VoA reports.