Joint Action Of ACT Armenia Forum In Emergency

On October 2, at 16.03 a landslide occurred on the 83rd kilometer of Vanadzor-Bagratashen sector of the M6 highway in Tavush region, Armenia.
The landslide followed by landfall, more than 300 m long and 60 m high plot of land (about 3 million metres3) came down from the mountain and covered the road, rendering it completely impassable. The road is nearly the only one connecting Armenia with Georgia. Alternative route was overburdened and made communication problematic. A number of trucks and passenger cars rolled into Debed River, whereas several vehicles remained under terrain. Electrical columns and wires, irrigation water pipes were damaged and the normal rhythm of life was disrupted in 5 neighboring communities.
5 people were declared missing, nine people were hospitalized, 35 vehicles were left under ruins. Search and rescue continued day and night till October 14 when the rescue and cleaning work was over.
For the first 24 hours 300 rescuers and the community volunteers were working in risky and extremely hard conditions without technical and sanitary-hygienic equipment. There was a lack of tents, sleeping bags, portable kitchen, bio-toilets, etc. The temperature was even colder at nights than usual. People needed better conditions to be able to continue working.
Based on the initial rapid assessment, the ART appealed to ACT Alliance rapid response fund for the betterment of working and living conditions of rescuers and volunteers. Thanks to the funding from ACT Alliance ACT Armenia Forum members — Armenia Round Table and UMCOR, donated 4 bio-toilets and 126 sleeping bags and 8 boxes of hygiene kits to 150 rescuers.
Fr. Hrayr Bejanyan, priest of Tavush region, assisted in all stages of the implementation of the rapid response including initial needs assessment, monitoring of response distribution and regular communication and updates from the disaster zone. The priest also conducted pastoral care of the victims’ families and remained in place with rescue teams and volunteers throughout.
Ministry of Emergency situations sent a letter to ART expressing gratitude for assisting in emergency response and readiness to continue cooperation.