Epress.am News from Armenia
According to experts from the working group put together by Armenia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, the area in Tavush marz (province) where the landslide struck is characterized by steep slopes and several epicenters of landslides, which were noted by not only local but also foreign experts back in 2004.
The ministry’s National Seismic Protection Service Agency reported that at 1:58 pm on Sept. 28, an earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale (having a magnitude of 5-6 in its epicenter) struck the Georgia-Armenia border zone, 24km southeast from the Georgian town of Ninotsminda. The earthquake was also felt in the Armenian towns and cities of Gyumri, Vanadzor, Stepanavan, Alaverdi and Ashotsk.
At 10:10 am on Sept. 30, on the 83km mark of the Vanadzor-Noyemberyan road, a landslip was triggered and about 3,000 cubic meters of land slid onto the road.
The recent heavy rains also contributed to the subsequent landslide on Oct. 2.
Search and rescue work cannot be carried out in full due to the threat of another landslide. The collapsed section is about 300 meters in length, with an additional 130 meters being considered dangerous. The average height of the land that slid onto the road is 10–15 meters.
