Photos: Coffin Transported by Cable in Disaster Zone

In the city of Alaverdi, considered the epicenter of the natural disaster, the same situation continues for a week now. Residents are still cleaning, while simultaneously searching through mud and water for their belongings. Unfortunately, these efforts have yielded no results.

“All our belongings are underwater. Everything happened in an instant, we could only save ourselves. We didn’t even manage to take our passports and documents with us. We were asleep. If it weren't for the boys on the second and third floors, we would have drowned. They broke down the door with an axe and evacuated us to the upper floors,” Ms. Karine recounted in an interview with MediaHub.

A 53-year-old man from Alaverdi told that he hasn’t slept or rested for a week. He even lacks clothes and shoes; what he has was given to him by neighbors from the upper floors. “We were lying down, and suddenly I heard a loud cracking sound. The bridge had collapsed, which I took as a warning. I got up, and my feet were in water. The waters of the Debed had already reached our home. I shouted and woke everyone up to get outside. A few minutes later, it was impossible to enter. My house of 50 years collapsed in seconds,” he lamented.

“In the disaster zone, we are currently encouraging one another, saying ‘this too shall pass.’ But when we see the reality, we understand that it will take a long time to recover mentally and physically. Yesterday, for example, there was a funeral. The coffin was transported by cable; many could not visit the relatives of the deceased as it was impossible,” said one of the young volunteers.

The damage in the disaster zone is immense and even difficult to calculate. Water, which has risen nearly two meters, has swept away everything, and there are currently no promises regarding compensation.