Floods in Albania on January 2010

Heavy rainfalls and unusually warm weather have caused flooding in the northwestern region of Albania since January 4, 2010. Furthermore, the authorities were forced to open the gates of a hydropower station dam to prevent it from breaking. More than 3,500 people have already been evacuated and more than 2000 houses and 10,500 hectares of agricultural land are flooded. The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was triggered to provide satellite imagery for flood mapping and to support the aid response. This mapping activity was performed in the context of the GMES Emergency Response Project SAFER with funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme.