Although heavy rainfall in recent days has caused floods in several parts of Montenegro, the situation is currently stabilizing, and the water levels of most rivers are decreasing, said Radomir Šćepanović, Head of the Directorate for Operational Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on Boje jutra on TV Vijesti.
Šćepanović said that the only recorded increase in water level was a slight increase in Lake Skadar, but that it currently does not pose a danger to the population and facilities.
"There has been a slight increase in the water level at Lake Skadar, primarily due to the inflow from Albania, but the situation is not critical and we have no endangered facilities," emphasized Šćepanović.
According to him, during the previous 24 hours, no protection and rescue services had any serious interventions - including in Vranjina, Rijeka Crnojevića and Žabljak Crnojevića, where locals, as he says, are used to seasonal floods.
Speaking about the most vulnerable areas in the recent wave of rainfall, Šćepanović stated that the municipality of Danilovgrad suffered the most damage, especially in areas where facilities were built on terrain that was previously known to be flood-prone.
"The water has receded from Danilovgrad because the water levels of the Zeta and Morača rivers are significantly decreasing, but the damage exists where there was no construction in the past," he said.
The damage assessment, as he explained, will be conducted through municipal commissions, based on citizen reports, while work is still underway at the national level to harmonize a unified methodology.
He specifically addressed the condition of the Mareze Canal, stating that it is an infrastructure facility that has not been in operation for years, and that its consequences would be significantly less if the canal were passable.
"The Mareza Canal has been unusable for a long time. It used to function, people used to swim and fish in it, but today it is devastated," said Šćepanović.
He emphasized that responsibility does not lie solely with institutions, but also with citizens who illegally occupy water lands and narrow natural water flows.
Speaking about the preparedness of the system to respond to natural disasters, Šćepanović assessed that Montenegro has made a major step forward compared to the floods of 2010 and 2011, especially in equipping and training protection and rescue services.
"Today we have boats, high-capacity pumps, trained firefighters and rescue workers, and coordination of all services. We didn't have that back then," he said.
He also announced additional capacity strengthening for the upcoming fire season, including the procurement of a new firefighting aircraft, although this is a long and complex process.
"For the upcoming fire season, it is expected that another firefighting aircraft will be acquired, joining the existing three aircraft. This additional aircraft will be an important resource for aerial firefighting, along with two helicopters that should be ready to fight the fire," said Šćepanović.
He also emphasized that, in addition to the aircraft, smaller fire engines, vehicles and equipment for extinguishing fires in rural areas will also be purchased.
"Through projects with Italy and Albania, smaller fire engines and vehicles for extinguishing fires in less accessible areas have been purchased. Also, through these projects, it is planned to purchase more such vehicles for municipalities that were not included," he concluded.
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