On Monday morning, 01 October 2018, the villages of Dsegh in Lori and Arapi, Voskehask, Harij in Shirak mountainous regions in Armenia were affected by sudden heavy rains and hailstorms that swept away 130ha of crops in Dsegh and 185,8 ha – Arapi villages, 28,2 – Voskehask, 64,29 – Harij. The dwellers lost 70 to 80% of their crop. Local authorities have declared these regions in state of emergency due to the damages caused by the natural disaster and asked national and international organizations to support the affected population.
The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development asked the Armenia Round Table Foundation (ART) for humanitarian assistance to help the affected communities. According to the official information from the ministry, the damages affected 300 communities in 9 regions out of 10. More than 7000 hectares of wheat, barley and grain, fruit, vegetables/orchards, and vineyards were damaged. According to government official information, the total damage to agriculture is estimated to be 8,7 billion AMD which equals to 18,125,000 USD. The hailstones and storm were so heavy that they broke the roofs and windows, and flooded houses.
