From May 25-26, 2024, a heavy rainstorm in the Lori province of Armenia caused the Debed River to overflow, sweeping away everything in its path. People trapped in flooded areas faced communication issues and water filled residential buildings up to the second floor. The flood destroyed the gardens and farms of local villagers, and the river carried away many livestock. Additionally, 20 bridges were damaged, several of which collapsed, affecting vital infrastructure connecting towns and villages. The flood claimed the lives of four people.
The most affected settlements from the catastrophic flood in the town of Alaverdi were the village of Karkop and the Sanahin train station neighborhood. Five months later, local residents are still struggling with the consequences of the flood.
In mid-August, the government approved a compensation program for those affected by the flood. Still, residents have relied on their own resources to rebuild their lives.
60-year-old Sirush Khachatryan, who lives near Sanahin station and works at the Alaverdi Preventive Disinfection Company, faced extensive damage to her home.
“On the day the flood started, I was asleep when I received a call around one in the morning. My neighbor was frantically shouting, ‘Get out of the house!’ I asked, ‘Why?’ She said that water was filling the houses. I was very annoyed and said, ‘You’re interrupting my sleep. How could water fill the house?’
Then came the next urgent call: ‘Hurry, get out of the house!’ I quickly changed my clothes, opened the door, and saw that the entrance was completely flooded with water. I woke up my neighbor, who had just arrived from Yerevan. I called her, saying, ‘Elmira, hurry out. The Debed River is flooding the house.’
When we finally got outside, the entrance was already blocked with water. My neighbor on the third floor had her children, shouting, ‘Sirush grandma, come up, don’t stay down below.’
We stayed at our neighbor’s house all night, on our feet. There was space to sit, but I couldn’t sleep or relax. The next day, I moved to my son’s house, and it wasn’t until two days later that I could re-enter my own home. Everything was covered in mud, and we didn’t know where to start. My refrigerator was tipped over in the hallway, and the sofa had been pushed against the corridor wall. I began disinfecting my home, and the next day we went to Karkop village to conduct disinfection efforts to prevent cholera. After three days of disinfection there, we went to the other villages and continued the work.
I tore down the walls of my house and cleaned the mud off the floor. Emergency services helped the victims, but I received help from several volunteers who came from Yerevan, as the railway was damaged and my relatives couldn’t reach me. We have a certificate from a construction materials shop that allows us to buy whatever we need for the renovation of our home. I am taking advantage of the support provided by the government, the Red Cross and individual benefactors, who have offered assistance both from Armenia and abroad.
Right now, I am living in a rented apartment until my house is renovated, and the government is covering those expenses as well. I had a beautiful garden with lovely plants and flowers, all of which were destroyed due to the devastating flood. I was particularly sad about my flowers, but it’s okay. I will grow them again and restore my beautiful garden,” Khachatryan shared.
Karkop resident Varuzhan Hakobyan lost his garden in the flood. He was at work at a factory when the flood started.
“My workplace was beyond Ayroom village when my son called me around one in the morning and said the river was overflowing. I called home to tell my wife, children and grandchildren to get up. The river didn’t rise gradually. It overflowed all at once. By the time I drove back to the village, the bridge had collapsed, and I couldn’t cross.
I drove back and kept calling my family, not knowing what to do. My son put on his fishing gear and managed to get my wife and children out of the disaster area. Our factory workers came to help my wife and my 92-year-old mother. All the residents of the village fled down the gorge toward the village of Chochkan.
We are benefiting from the government’s financial support, and we are especially grateful to benefactors who have helped us with food and construction materials. We have applied for help, but we are still waiting for many things, especially for material compensation for the property that has been lost. The sooner we receive the support, the sooner we can renovate our homes,” Hakobyan said.
He noted that the process of receiving government assistance has been complicated. “We received initial aid, but we haven’t received further compensation, because the applications were only recently submitted,” he said. “We received 60,000 drams, but we should get 200,000 drams for property compensation. Right now, we are living in a rented place, and the government is providing 40,000 drams in rental assistance.”
Hakobyan added local authorities have not taken adequate measures to prevent similar natural disasters. “If such disasters happen again, we need to organize ourselves, because there have been no protective measures,” he said.
Alaverdi district mayor David Ghumashyan discussed the compensation provided to residents affected by the flood and the mechanisms employed to compensate for residential property losses.
“For the compensation of residential property, extensive monitoring has been conducted. We have reached the conclusion that individually assessing every home and evaluating the fair value of various small and large household items is a significant and challenging task. If we look at Alaverdi, there may be some discrepancies in percentage calculations, but nearly 80% of the apartments were in similar conditions, meaning they will require renovation under nearly the same circumstances.
Therefore, the government decided that compensation should be provided at 60,000 drams per square meter. I believe that people will be satisfied with this compensation, because they will be able to renovate their homes. Additionally, according to the government’s decision, each family will receive an extra 200,000 drams for property compensation, not including other forms of assistance.
Approximately 85 vehicles were damaged by the flooding. At this moment, I don’t have specific information about the vehicles, because the recipients have not yet been identified. I am confident that after correcting a few deficiencies, the issue of vehicle compensation will be resolved,” Ghumashyan said.
When asked how many homes and civil properties have been affected and whether villagers will be provided with civil protection awareness, the Ghumashyan responded, “The civil protection plan exists in every community. In a disaster like this, I can hardly imagine that any plan could have been effective, given what occurred on those days. However, I agree that such experiences should be taken into account, and we need to reformulate our civil protection plan.
Regarding data updates, we are constantly working on providing information. However, if an employee has indicated that the data is not posted on our website, that needs to be rectified. If we have stated that, say, 138 homes were affected, that data should be published and updated. Of course, if the figures change, we need to consider how to ensure their timely updates according to the situation.”
There is currently no data on the municipal website regarding the number of houses affected by the flooding.
The mayor added that the Red Cross has become one of the main partners of the local government since the flood.
The Hovasapyan family lost two apartments, two garages and five sheds in the flood. Agriculture is their primary source of livelihood. The mother of the family, Narine Hovasapyan, shared, “Everything we had has been swept away by the flood. Our 30 years of hard work has gone down the drain.” Even if the family receives funds through support programs, the damage is immense.
The father of the family shared, “We lost everything in one night. We’re 60 years old, and I haven’t been away from my village for more than 60 minutes. I invested every last penny to help my village thrive, but now the situation is hopeless. We were not psychologically prepared to lose what we had. I’m already thinking about leaving the village or even the country, about living somewhere else,” he said.
The family is particularly concerned that the government of Armenia did not differentiate between homes with and without belongings when providing compensation. This means that all affected individuals receive a one-time compensation.
Narine is constantly busy with cleaning and renovation work at home. “I sit and lie down, but my mind is preoccupied with whether we are doing the right thing by wanting to renovate the apartment and whether that disaster will happen again and destroy everything once more,” she said.
Local residents in Alaverdi continue to rebuild their homes and gardens devastated by the flood, while local authorities are working to address the issues arising from the disaster. This is taking place through collaboration between the community and residents, as highlighted in some of these stories.
However, there are significant shortcomings, including the lack of information provided to residents about civil protection measures and the unreliability of temporary bridges. While it is crucial for the community to adhere to safety regulations when crossing these temporary bridges, there is no oversight near these structures, leading residents to violate safety rules.
Anzhela Sedrakyan
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