By DASHNOR KALOÇI

The bad weather with heavy rain and snow that has affected not only our country but also our neighbors, such as Greece, Italy, etc., in the last two or three days, even reaching apocalyptic proportions such as yesterday evening (January 21) when cyclone "Harry" hit southern Italy (which has caused the relevant local authorities to issue a red alert), is not an unknown phenomenon. At least our country has experienced and felt "on its shoulders" these weather vagaries quite often, not only in these three and a half decades of the pluralism period, but also before the '90s. In fact, in those years, it has experienced situations much more difficult than those that have occurred in recent years. Scenes and situations such as those of the past few days (January 7-10, 2026), where almost the entire country was engulfed by bad weather with heavy rain and snow, resulting in rivers overflowing, overflowing their beds and major flooding in several districts of the country, Albania also experienced in 1963, 1973 and 1985, which are still fresh in the memory of those who experienced them!

But, given the fact that the regime before the '90s, (both under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and his successor, Ramiz Alia), just as it kept many extraordinary events secret, it did not reflect (in the press, radio and television), not even the events with the bad weather that sometimes affected the country!

He even considered and kept them secret and people did not know what happened next to their city or village! The above, etc., is also known from secret archival documents (now declassified), extracted from the Archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where the Administration and Studies Branch or the General Directorate near that ministry, in its daily operational communiqués, in addition to the extraordinary events that occurred in all districts of the country, also reflected the bad weather and its consequences.

Some of these documents, which dealt with the events of the bad weather that swept the entire country in January 1985, we published a few days ago, and in the previous issue we published several other documents that belong to December 1973, where there was also bad weather with heavy rain and snow, massive flooding of lands, stables and homes, road blockages due to frost and avalanches, where there was a lot of loss of human life.

In this article, we are publishing some archival documents that belong to April 1970, when bad weather with a large cyclone swept almost the entire country, mainly the southern districts, such as; Fier, Berat, Përmet, Vlorë, Tepelena, Gjirokastër, Saranda, etc., where there was not only extensive damage to residential houses, hospitals, plants, factories, the energy and telephone network, stables, greenhouses, fruit trees, kindergartens and nurseries, warehouses, schools, military units and other socio-cultural facilities, but also to human life. For more about this, we are introduced to the archival documents in question, which are published for the first time and with the relevant facsimiles, by Memorie.al.

Continues from the previous issue

ARCHIVE DOCUMENT WITH SECRET OPERATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR, ON THE BAD WEATHER WITH THE STRONG CYCLONE THAT WHICH COVERED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IN APRIL 1970, WHICH CAUSED MASSIVE DAMAGE IN ALL DISTRICTS

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET

MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Copy No. 1

GENERAL BRANCH Tirana, 9.4.1970

OPERATIONAL COMMUNICATION NO. 83

ABOUT THE CYCLONE OF 8.4.1970

From 11:00 on 8.4.19790, over the territory of the People's Republic of Albania, especially in the southwestern part, there were strong winds with an epicenter in the Vlora district.

In this district, the wind speed was 42 m2 per second and the sea waves were 7-8 force. As a result of this cyclone in this district, as well as in the districts of Tepelena, Fier and Përmet, various damages were caused, of which the most damaging were in the district of Vlora.

Near the village of Risili, due to the cyclone, the opening point of the 1580th unit collapsed, killing officer Mehmet Caci from Tërbaçi in Vlorë and soldier Albert Agolli from Korça.

At this opening point, 8 other soldiers were also injured. Also, due to the cyclone, 6 civilians were injured in various places in the Vlora district. Medical measures have been taken for these and they are out of any danger.

In this district, all grain bins and early tomato greenhouses have been destroyed. The roofs of cultural and educational institutions in a good part of the villages have also been destroyed, as well as the roof of the electric lamp factory.

In the village of Peshkëpi, 300 houses were damaged, while in the village of Mifol, cowsheds were severely damaged. Production at the oil distillery was halted and the roofs of the entire plant were destroyed.

In general, in the commercial network around the villages of Vlora, damage was caused to both buildings and merchandise. In the village of Nartë, 1500 olive trees were broken, while in Peshkëpi, another 300 trees were uprooted and broken.

There was other damage of this nature in other villages, especially in the villages of Ormen, Gorisht, etc. Electricity was cut off in all the villages, as well as in the Selenica mine, which is connected to the village of Gorisht.

In the Fier district

The wind started at 11.30. strong from the South and with a speed of 17-20 m. per second. There was also various damages in this area.

For example, in the Kurjan cooperative, the SMT hangar and the early tomato greenhouses were damaged. Similarly, these types of greenhouses were also damaged in the Levan Agricultural and Rural Development Center. There were roof collapses of various cooperative and agricultural buildings, as well as 8 state reserve warehouses in the Povelç village of Mallakastra, which were completely uncovered.

In Patos, a house where 5 families lived was damaged, which has become uninhabitable. The cow stables at the Levan Farm and the "Liberation" Farm were also damaged.

There were also power and telephone outages in this district. At the same time, damage was also observed in vegetable stalls.

In the Tepelena district

The strong wind continued in this area as well. Due to this wind, 4 people were injured, for whom medical measures have been taken and they are out of danger.

In addition, the hospital in the city of Tepelena and the 8-year school in the village of Sinanaj were partially damaged. In general, many houses covered with tiles were damaged and 4 warehouses from state reserves were discovered and damaged.

In the Përmet district

In this district, various farms were damaged due to the strong wind, which was uncovered by the strong wind, as well as the roofs of some old houses. Damage of this nature caused by the wind, but to a lesser extent, was also reported in Berat and Lushnje.

Due to the storm, a Greek ship loaded with planks has been sheltering since last night near Cape Rodon in the Durrës district, while a Yugoslav ship has been sheltering in Shenjan in the Vlora district.

As a result of this cyclone, telephone communication in the districts of Saranda, Gjirokastër, Përmet, Fier, Vlorë and Shkodër was disrupted, for this reason the radio bureau was put into use.

According to information provided by the Hydrometeorological Institute, the rivers are experiencing rising water levels due to melting snow.

HEAD OF THE GENERAL BRANCH

PETRIT HAKANI

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA SECRET

MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Copy No. 1

GENERAL BRANCH Tirana, on 10.4.1970

OPERATIONAL COMMUNICATION NO. 84

VLORAS

Regarding the announcement made yesterday, on the damages caused by the cyclone of 8.4.1970, in the Vlora district, final data should be considered, the damages as follows:

Two soldiers, an officer and a soldier, were killed; while 19 others were injured, including 8 soldiers, 2 children and 9 citizens. Of the injured, 10 have been hospitalized and 2 are in danger.

Damages in the industrial sector
3320 m3 of roof tiles with eternit and 700 m2 of country and marseille tiles were exposed by the wind. The most important are:

The roof of the electric lamp furnace;
NISH Food production roof;
The roof of the bakery;
Workers' sheds in Gorishte;
Approximately 630 m2 of window panes were broken;
The walls of a warehouse under construction at the Fish Factory have collapsed.
Due to strong winds, electricity was cut off in several industrial sectors at the Novosela water pump station, but this situation has been resolved, while in the Gorishte oil area and the Sera e Selenica mine, the electricity outage continues and as a result, production has been suspended.

Damages in the agricultural sector
Nearly 6000 m2 of roofs covered with eternit tiles and 350 m2 of country tiles were discovered in 18 stables, 43 warehouses or hangars, 17 social-cultural facilities and 9 other facilities.

Over 700 m2 of window panes were damaged, 6.5 ha of tomato greenhouses were completely destroyed and nearly 60 ha of tomatoes planted in the field suffered 60% damage. Around 300 olive trees and 100 citrus fruit trees were broken or uprooted.

In the municipal economy, transport and construction sector
Over 1300 m2 of roof tiles with eternit and 2270 m2 of country tiles with marseille were damaged, in state and private residences as well as in facilities used by enterprises in these sectors.

All high and low voltage electrical lines, both in the city and in the countryside, as well as telephone lines, were also damaged. Over 700 m2 of window glass was damaged.

In the trade and collection sector
4200 m2 of roofs with eternit tiles and 600 m2 of country and marseille tiles were damaged, these in 63 commercial units, warehouses and hangars. 870 m2 of glass were broken.

In the education and health sector
1950 m2 of roofs with eternit tiles and 350 m2 of country and Marseille tiles were damaged, these in schools and health institutions, as well as approximately 2000 m2 of window glass.

FIERY

In addition to the reports of damages caused, the following should also be noted:

In the villages of Damas, Kremanar and Sinize, the roofs of primary schools have been removed. Children have been placed in other buildings to continue their studies, while in the village of Ninash, the roofs of the culture room, nursery, kindergarten and club have been removed.

There is partial damage in the villages of Gorderovë and Bardhej.

The electrical network has been damaged by 30%. The damage to olive trees and fruit trees has not yet been confirmed./ Memorie.al