EU offers aid for Dariali Gorge landslide
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The European Commission is offering assistance to Georgia as the country responds to the emergency situation in Dariali Gorge.
President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili discussed last week’s landslide at a meeting in Brussels yesterday.
After the meeting, the official website of the European Commission released a joint statement on behalf of itself and the Government of Georgia.
"Both sides discussed the landslide which occurred in the Dariali Gorge on 17 May. They united in their expression of sympathy to all those affected by the disaster.
The European Commission offered its assistance to Georgia in responding to the emergency situation,” the statement read.
In the early hours of May 17, a section of mountainside collapsed and caused a landslide near Gveleti village, in the Dariali Gorge in northern Georgia near the Russian border.
A Ukrainian man died after suffering severe injuries in the landslide. Rescue teams are continuing to search for five others who remain missing. So far 170 people have been rescued since Saturday morning’s disaster.
Earthquake experts spent time at the site to investigate the area, install micro-seismic stations and monitor earthquakes.
It is believed a mild earthquake struck at the disaster site a few hours before the deadly landslide on May 17. Some believe the 1.1 magnitude earthquake caused the landslide
Yesterday, emergency response experts began attempts to build a temporary road through the Dariali Gorge to enable vehicles to pass through the area, which was cut off when the landslide hit last Saturday.
The European Union is offering Georgia the "closest cooperation” and will "keep the future open”, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso today after meeting Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Brussels today.
The European Union (EU) will allocate €19 million (45.5 million GEL) to Georgia to assist the country implement the Association Agreement (AA) and help boost further development in the country.
Emergency groups are attempting to build a temporary road in Dariali Gorge to enable vehicles to pass through the area, which was cut off when a devastating landslide blocked the valley on May 17.
Earthquake experts are monitoring seismic activity on Mount Kazbek following the devastating landslide in Dariali Gorge, northern Georgia, on May 17.
The landslide disaster in Dariali Gorge was caused by extreme movements of an icy glacier located high on a mountain peak, experts say.
The European Commission has activated the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism to respond to the May 17 landslide in Dariali Gorge.
International experts tasked with investigating the landslide in Dariali Gorge have presented their initial findings, which includes installing an automatic early warning system to alert locals of a possible disaster.
A temporary motorway opened in Dariali Gorge today allowing traffic to pass through the area and enable residents who were blocked by the landslide to freely participate in the self-government elections.