The Albanian government has declared a state of emergency in the north west of the country, following flooding over huge areas and the evacuation of hundreds of people.
Albania has been experiencing unprecedented heavy rains over the last ten days which, alongside warm temperatures melting the snow has resulted in severe flooding in areas such as Shkoder and Lezhe.
More rain forecast The hydro-electric power plants, reservoirs and dams in the north are near to bursting and still more heavy rain is forecast.
The government are warning of resorting to forceful evacuation to save lives as people are refusing to leave their homes as they fear theft and burglary if they go.
The scenes of the news are incredible to see with the reservoirs full to bursting and dam walls having huge sprays of water coming over the tops of them. People are using boats to get from their homes; hundreds of homes under water.
We have been advised by the British Embassy not to venture north, as some areas of the country are now completely cut off by the floodwaters.
Church response The churches of Albania are trying to help the people of the north by collecting clothes, blankets and food to send to the recovery centres.
Christians in Tirana are praying for angels to hold back the walls of the dams against the force of the water threatening to break them. If the dams break people say it will be like a tsunami has hit Albania.
The flooding is caused by freak weather but there are also accusations of poor management being to blame.
The national electricity company, KESH, is being accused of keeping the water levels higher than recommended in order to produce more electricity to sell abroad for profit.
The crisis is worsened by the fact that Albania is a poor country and does not have the resources or experience to deal with these types of problems.