269 people evacuated amid severe floods in Armenia’s north

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least three people died and two others went missing on Sunday after rivers in Armenia’s northern Lori and Tavush provinces overflew their banks, leaving local settlements under water and washing away roads and a bridge, RFE/RL’s Armenian servide reports.

According to the Interior Ministry, 269 people have been evacuated from their homes.

The flash flooding also forced authorities to close Armenia’s main border crossing with Georgia and suspend rail service between the two countries.

Sections of the two national highways leading to the Bagratashen crossing were destroyed by the fast-flowing Debed and Aghstev rivers overnight following heavy rainfalls. The Armenian Interior Ministry reported one casualty in the morning. Its Rescue Service said it is searching for another man believed to have fallen into the swollen Debed.

News reports and footage posted on social media suggested that the Lori town of Alaverdi and nearby communities were hit hardest by what was the country’s worst flooding in decades.

An Alaverdi resident, Ani Mosinian, said flood waters destroyed a bridge connecting two parts of the town.

“I can’t leave my home because it’s too dangerous,” Mosinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “I can see from my window that the first floors of buildings are under water.”

Another Alaverdi resident, Gevorg Aslanian, gave a similar account. He said he went to the flooded part of the formerly industrial town, the Sanahin neighborhood, to help a friend trapped there. He said he found no rescuers at the scene.

“The evacuations were mainly carried out by local residents themselves,” Aslanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “There are still people remaining in their [flooded] homes. They don’t want to get out even though they have no water, gas or electricity.”

Armenia’s national water distribution company, Veolia Djur, said the floods disrupted water supply to not only Alaverdi but also 15 other settlements in Lori.

“The level of the Debed went up by six meters, and it is not possible to approach the [regional] water main or carry out any other work at the moment,” the company said in a statement.

Also left without water were some parts of Dilijan, a resort town in neighboring Tavush. Outside the town, Tavush Governor Hayk Ghalumian looked on as heavy trucks and excavators hastily shored up Aghstev river banks to prevent further damage to the regional highway leading to the Georgian border. Road police limited but did not block traffic through the damaged sections of the highway.