Photos: Water Floods Residential Homes in Yerevan, Causing Collapse

On April 12, an emergency situation unfolded in Yerevan. Around 03:25, the National Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received a call reporting that the main drinking water pipeline near residential houses on Vardan Ajemyan Street in the Erebuni administrative district had been damaged, flooding homes with water.

According to shamshyan.com, residents reported that the incident occurred between 01:30 and 02:00 AM, with water flooding several private homes, reaching heights of 60 cm to 1 meter in some areas. It was confirmed that houses numbered 179 (owned by Meri Nikoghosyan) and 179/1 (owned by Zhanna Agajanyan) were inundated to a depth of about 80 cm.

Due to the lack of access for machinery, no drainage work had been carried out. Additionally, at house number 8 on the first alley of V. Ajemyan Street (owned by Svetlana Asilbekyan), there was a significant collapse of the external wall of a resident's home adjacent to the flooded houses.

In an interview with a photojournalist, residents said, "It was around 1:30 to 2:00 AM when water began to gush out due to what appeared to be a pipe break. We attempted to stop it ourselves but were powerless, not knowing where the water was coming from. We called 'Veolia Water' several times, but there was no response. It was eerily quiet there. We were forced to call '9-11', and only our call received an operational response from rescuers and patrol officers. We knew the community center wouldn’t be responsive at that hour; it would likely just be a 'dead end' there. But we kept calling 'Veolia Water', and after numerous attempts, they finally responded, stating their working hours begin at 9 AM. When we explained that a main drinking water pipeline had burst and was flooding homes—causing a wall collapse—they still did not send anyone, saying they’d just record our report and their specialists would come when their workday started. Perhaps someone informed them from '9-11' because they only sent someone after five hours, finally shutting off the water valve. Now we don’t know when they will make repairs or who will help us: the Yerevan Municipality or the Erebuni Community Office.

In any case, we are only satisfied with the efforts of the rescuers and patrol officers. Other structures appear indifferent to both the residents and consumers, while for 'Veolia Water', the priority seems to be the timely payments from consumers, rather than addressing urgent resident issues. It’s shameful to be in such a situation in the 21st century!"

According to sources, the press secretary of Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, Hayk Kostanyan, has already notified the leadership of the Erebuni administrative district, and staff from the community center have arrived. However, the issue needs to be resolved by 'Veolia Water', which has not yet responded regarding when they will begin repair work.