How Many People Were Affected by Heavy Snowfall

Between 9 AM on February 20 and 9 AM on February 21, the emergency services in Yerevan received a total of 831 calls within 24 hours. Ruben Grigoryan, the director of the "Emergency Services," reported this to Auroranews.

“We can say that we have accidents and pedestrian hit calls every day, and these 7 incidents are not considered a large number. Compared to previous years, the number of calls during such significant snowfall yesterday and today has been relatively low. It is also possible that not everyone calls for emergency assistance; many may have transported themselves to the hospital. The data I mentioned includes those who sought emergency help after the incident,” Grigoryan stated.

The director elaborated that they had only one case yesterday where their ambulance could not reach the location quickly due to a hazardous area. He noted that there was a headache call, but their staff advised the patient to take painkillers instead. According to Grigoryan, the patient showed understanding and declined the call.

He also addressed a viral video on social media where people were seen pushing an ambulance. Many commenters noted that the ambulance had summer tires. “I assure you responsibly that there are no ambulances in Yerevan with summer or all-season tires. All are equipped with winter tires as per regulations, and they have even been replaced earlier with new ones. We do not use tires from the previous year. By the way, per the government's decision, there are regulations regarding the number of kilometers an ambulance must drive annually before changing its tires. Every year, we are required to buy new winter tires, regardless of the condition of last year's tires. Our work is connected to people's lives; therefore, everything must be done responsibly,” Grigoryan assured.

He informed that on February 20, there were 15 such incidents when citizens had to push ambulances to move them. Regarding the online incident, he explained that that particular vehicle was not on a call but was heading for maintenance. The road was icy, and other emergency staff inside the ambulance helped, solving the issue. “There was nothing extraordinary about it; if it had summer tires, I would also be held accountable alongside others,” Grigoryan stated.

He mentioned that they did everything possible to ensure the uninterrupted operation of emergency services. They also arrived very early for work today and checked all vehicles' technical conditions at the stations. Auroranews also reported that based on yesterday's data, there were 6 accidents, with 5 injured, and 3 pedestrian accidents, also with 3 injured.