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

At least one person has died and more than 200 have been evacuated due to floods in northern Armenia that have destroyed key roads and bridges, officials said Sunday.

Floods caused by heavy rain in the northern Lori region have left one person dead and another missing, the interior ministry said, while 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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