Devastation in Karkop: No Light, Water, or Gas as the Village is Flooded with Mud

The village of Karkop in the Lori region is almost deserted, with only a few men remaining to assist in cleaning the mud that has covered the area. In an interview with NEWS.am, local resident Taguhi Andreasyan explained that as a result of the disaster, they have been deprived of water, gas, and electricity.

The village population has been evacuated to nearby areas, with some renting homes and others staying with relatives. "It will take months for the village to recover. How long can they stay at relatives' homes? It’s the second day, and there’s no technical assistance in sight, so it’s clear there won’t be help later on," she said, adding that there is also a fuel issue in the village, and they cannot move the belongings that remained unharmed to other areas.

"The bridge connecting the village to the main road has completely collapsed. The other route through Akhtala is also out because that bridge has collapsed too. Now they are constructing an alternative road through the village of Madan, but traffic is still difficult there," Taguhi noted.

She recounted that state authorities have not yet taken steps to clear the streets of mud. "The administrative head of Karkop reached out to the gravel plant's management to request machinery to help residents clear their homes and yards on their own. We had only one grocery store, and it’s entirely filled with water; nothing could be salvaged. The community center distributed food to residents yesterday, but there are families that need clothing too. It’s impossible to live on the ground floors of the buildings; the basements are flooded with water," she added.

It should be noted that on May 26, heavy rains in the Lori and Tavush regions caused the Debed River to overflow. As a result, roads and bridges collapsed, homes and vehicles were submerged, people were trapped, and bridges were destroyed. Because of this, the M-6 interstate road is closed in both directions. The river level rose by six meters yesterday, and the "Alaverdi-Archis-Noyemberyan" water supply line was submerged, cutting off water supply to 16 communities, which has now been restored.

Currently, there are four casualties as a result of the flooding. According to the Road Department, the Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Ayrum-Bagratashen road is closed. Drivers are advised to bypass the M-6 when heading towards the Georgian border via the M-3 Margara-Vanadzor-Tashir-Armenia border and M-1 Yerevan-Gyumri-Armenia border highways. The M-4 Yerevan-Sevan-Ijevan-Armenia border highway is passable from Dilijan to Ijevan, although traffic is one-way in some areas. The Dilijan-Ijevan stretch is closed for freight vehicles.