On 23 June, a delegation containing two members of the Collapsed Structures Group (GREC) of the Government of Catalonia Fire Service returned to Catalonia after spending 10 days in Armenia, which was hit by severe flooding in the north of the country at the end of May. They travelled there with a firefighter from Barcelona, an interpreter and a driver on 14 June in answer to the request for international assistance made by the EU, through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and the Spanish Government. The purpose of the visit was to help the Government of Armenia in assessing the damage to infrastructure caused by flooding in the provinces of Lori and Tavush.

The two GREC members, a sub-inspector from the Terres de l’Ebre Emergency Region and a firefighter from the Tarragona Emergency Region, travelled as technical specialists in cave-ins and collapsed structures.

The delegation with the three experts from Catalonia met a representative of the European Union’s embassy in Armenia, a representative of the Spanish diplomatic service, and a United Nations emergency official to learn about the needs on the ground and establish objectives in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Saturday 15 June.

The Catalan firefighters subsequently established their base camp in Stepanavan, a town in the province of Lori, 139 kilometres north of the capital Yerevan. From there, they travelled to various villages in the north of the country, located in the three working areas identified: Tashir, Stepanavan and Alaverdi. When they arrived in the villages, the experts met the local authorities, who showed them the main areas affected by the floods: road bridges, footbridges and cross-drainage structures providing access to fields and farms, as well as homes, to inspect and assess them. They also supported local authorities and citizens by providing interim emergency advice.

After completing the inspections, the firefighters met the EU ambassador to Armenia in the capital once again, along with Armenian authorities and government officials, to share the results of the various measures in the working areas, and to complement the reports on the state of housing and infrastructure in the north of the country.