It Is Possible We Will Leave the Village: Karkopf Resident on Disaster Consequences

“It is possible we will leave the village. We have lost years of work. Once a person is afraid... who knows if the disaster will not repeat itself?” says Karkopf resident Takhouhi Andreasian, expressing concerns about the future of her family in the village. In an interview with NEWS.am, she explains that while rebuilding homes may be feasible within a year, restoring the orchards is another story, as some families relied on income from their orchards to sustain their households.

“The walls of our house have cracked, and the orchard has been completely destroyed. The house can be restored, but the orchard is unlikely to recover. Nothing is certain yet, but it is possible we will leave the village. Many families have already rented houses in Jochkan, but I cannot say what they will do later,” adds Andreasian as she recounts the ongoing recovery efforts in Karkopf.

She mentions that the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) workers are constructing a footbridge that will connect Karkopf to the main highway, eliminating the long walk villagers must take to reach the Akhtala bridge. “I think the bridge will be ready today,” she notes.

Andreasian also highlights that issues regarding electricity and water supply have not yet been resolved. “Until the village is completely cleared of mud, it is impossible to solve those problems, yet the municipality brings water every day with cisterns. The drinking water is sufficient for the villagers. There is also no issue with food in Karkopf,” she states.

She recalls that representatives had come from Yerevan to inspect the seismic safety of the buildings and assess the damages. “Inspections were also conducted by the Food Safety Inspectorate to remove deceased animals from the area. We had pigs, birds, and rabbits in the village,” she explains.

It is worth noting that due to heavy rains on the night of May 26 in the Lori and Tavush regions, the Debed River overflowed. This resulted in road and bridge collapses, homes being submerged, and people being stranded. The M-6 interstate road has been closed in both directions. The Debed River's level rose by 6 meters yesterday, inundating the 530mm water pipeline from Alaverdi to Arjish to Noyemberyan, which led to the suspension of water supply to 16 communities, although it has since been restored. Currently, there are 4 confirmed fatalities due to the flooding.

According to the Road Department, the Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Ayrum-Bagratashen road is closed. Drivers are advised to bypass M-6 when traveling toward the Georgian border by using the M-3 Margara-Vanadzor-Tashir-Armenia border and the M-1 Yerevan-Gyumri-Armenia border inter-state roads. The M-4 Yerevan-Sevan-Ijevan-Armenia border road is passable, although traffic may be one-way in certain sections. The area from Dilijan to Ijevan is closed for trucks.