Sunday, January 23, 2011

Balkan Boat Ride

Not one you would want to take:

"Bosnia landslide during storm kills 3" by Associated Press / December 6, 2010

Montenegrins evacuated their flooded homes yesterday, as the worst flooding in a century in the Balkans continued. Montenegrins evacuated their flooded homes yesterday, as the worst flooding in a century in the Balkans continued. (Savo Prelevic/ AFP/ Getty Images)

TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — A landslide unleashed by heavy rain killed three people and left several families homeless in the northern Bosnian town of Tuzla yesterday.

Neighbors said they rescued one man but could not help his wife, teenage son, and the teen’s grandmother escape from a three-story house that slid some 20 yards downhill before it collapsed and was buried in mud early in the morning.

Amid heavy rainfall over the past five days, the Balkans have faced the worst floods in a century and thousands of people have fled their homes, while Western Europe has dealt with subfreezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls that have led to fatalities and closed airports, highways, and schools....

In Albania, south of Bosnia, authorities asked NATO member countries for assistance in rescuing people from flooded areas and delivering food and other supplies to them.  

Related:

"ALBANIA UNREST -- Two people were killed yesterday during clashes between supporters of Albania's opposition Socialist Party and police in front of a government building in Tirana. The deaths occurred as protesters fought police outside Prime Minister Sali Barisha's office during a rally to demand the government resign over corruption allegations (Boston Globe January 22 2011)."  

Looks like Albania also has other problems.

Kosovo sent an army unit specializing in emergencies to help thousands of Albanian police officers and soldiers.  

Also see: Ruling party in Kosovo claims win

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