Flood in Armenia: roads and bridges destroyed, one dead

    Flooding caused by the Debed River overflowing its banks occurred in northern Armenia, causing significant destruction of infrastructure and the death of at least one person. According to information provided by the republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs on May 26, the disaster damaged roads, bridges and railway lines.

    The main blow of the disaster fell on the Lori region. On the Vanadzor-Alaverdi highway section, about 50 meters of the road were destroyed, several houses and outbuildings at Ayrum station were flooded. A car also fell into the river, and a search is currently underway for the missing citizen. As a result of the flood, the bridge over the Debed River, connecting the Sanahin station with the city of Alaverdi, was destroyed. Local authorities evacuated 70 residents of the village of Dzoraget to a safe place. Work is underway to eliminate the consequences of the flood and restore damaged infrastructure.

    Due to the flooding, the M-6 highway connecting Armenia with Georgia was closed. The Road Department urged drivers to use alternative routes via the M-3 and M-1 highways. In addition, international railway flights on the route Yerevan - Tbilisi - Yerevan were canceled by the subsidiary company of Russian Railways, South Caucasus Railway, due to a landslide on the Ayrum - Akhtala section.a