page_title: 2019 Albania earthquake
section_title: Albanian civilian and state response
hierarchical_section_title: 2019 Albania earthquake / Aftermath / Albanian civilian and state response
caption_attribution_description: English: 2019 earthquake damage of the Durres (Albania) castle walls
context_page_description: Northwestern Albania was struck by a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake with an epicentre 16 kilometres west-southwest of Mamurras, at 03:54 CET on 26 November 2019. The earthquake lasted at least 50 seconds and was felt in Albania's capital Tirana, and in places as far away as Taranto and Belgrade, 370 kilometres northeast of the epicentre. The maximum felt intensity was VIII on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. A total of 51 people were killed in the earthquake, with about 3,000 injured. It was the second earthquake to strike the region in the space of three months. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Albania in more than 40 years, its deadliest earthquake in 99 years and the world's deadliest earthquake in 2019.
context_section_description: In Albania, volunteers, along with some small organisations established drop off points for donations of food, clothing, blankets and hygiene products at prominent landmarks throughout Tirana and used social media to mobilise people to provide assistance. Three humanitarian organisations sorted and packed the items and sent them through several truckloads for distribution among displaced people of the earthquake zone. As demand was high, citizens were urged to donate over coming days. Hundreds of Albanians in Albania and Kosovo opened their homes to people displaced by the earthquake. Some students from Tirana went to assist relief efforts in Durrës and delivered hundreds of meals to earthquake affected people. Residents of Tirana held a candle light vigil in the city centre in honour of the deceased.
  The Albanian state initiated an online fundraising campaign for donations, raising 156 million leks, €1,600,000 and $25,000. The Socialist party in parliament and members of the Albanian government along with 60 mayors donated their November salary to the aid effort. The Muslim Community of Albania organised nationwide fundraising for monetary, food and material supplies and opened its mosques and madrasas as a place of shelter for earthquake victims. The Orthodox Church of Albania under Archbishop Anastasios opened the local monasteries and churches to people displaced by the earthquake. The Catholic Church in Albania held mass in its churches on 27 and 28 November for earthquake victims and coordinated its relief efforts through local branches of the Catholic charity Caritas. Football fan groups such as "Kuq e Zi" of the Albanian national team set up an emergency fund and sent volunteers from throughout the country to assist in relief operations. Fan groups from local teams such as "Tirona Fanatics" KF Tirana, "Guerrils" FK Partizani Tirana, KF Vllaznia Shkodër and players from clubs such as FK Kukësi sent food and clothing supplies and expressed solidarity with victims during matches following the first weekend after the earthquake.
  The Albanian government established a monetary compensation scheme that would give families of deceased people scholarships to children, pensions for the elderly and 1 million lek ($9,000) for a family. Prime Minister Rama said that the state budget was being reconfigured to manage the situation following the earthquake. Rama stated that the draft budget of 2020 would provide funds for the construction of homes and cost some 7 billion leke ($63.10 million) or 0.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The exact final amount is unknown and apart from the aim of getting displaced people into homes, Rama wants reconstruction to expand economic growth, jobs and consumption.
  Apart from costs and planned projects already factored in, the government committed itself to no new budgetary expenditure except for irrigation, so as to accumulate funds for reconstruction. Rama has called for additional expert assistance and monetary aid geared toward recovery from the international community stating that Albania lacks the capacity "to do this [reconstruction] alone." By mid December, 13 billion leks ($171 million) were allocated for future reconstruction by the Albanian government. In late January 2020, the government budget placed a total of 20 billion Lek in a fund for the future rebuilding process.
  In Albania, a large proportion of the earthquake damage has been blamed on corruption, violations of the building code and substandard construction following the demise of communism during the early 1990s. The Albanian state has drafted a law in the aftermath of the earthquake that would see investors, supervisors and architects go to prison for a period of 7–15 years if proper construction practices are violated. Albanian prosecutors have begun proceedings to investigate violations of regulations and illegal building within the construction industry. On 14 December, Albanian prosecutors and police detained nine people on charges of murder and abuse of power, including two owners of collapsed hotels. A further eig
caption: Durres castle walls damaged by the earthquake
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