Armenia floods kill two, hundreds evacuated
by AFP Staff Writers
Yerevan (AFP) May 26, 2024

Floods in northern Armenia killed at least two people as they destroyed key roads and bridges, forcing some 200 to evacuate, officials said on Sunday.

Floods caused by heavy rain in the northern Lori region have left two people dead and two more missing, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, Gnel Sanosyan, told journalists.

The country's interior ministry said earlier that 232 people were evacuated from their homes.

Several bridges and parts of a strategic highway linking the mountainous Caucasus country with Georgia were destroyed after the Debed river burst its banks, the ministry said.

Armenia's railway operator said it has cancelled trains to Georgia due to a landslide on the line.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan headed to the flood-affected area, where search and rescue operations and emergency recovery efforts are underway, his spokeswoman Nazeli Baghdasaryan said on social media.

Around 40,000 people are affected by flooding each year in Armenia, costing the country around $100 million in national GDP, according to the World Bank.

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