Batumi prepares for ferocious storm
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Holiday-makers and locals at the Black Sea coastal resort town Batumi are being advised not to swim at local beaches for the next two days as strong storm is predicted to hit the region.
Specialists predict a ferocious storm, up to Category 4, will hit Batumi today, causing rough seas and strong waves, which pose a serious danger to swimmers.
Omar Surmanidze of the Emergency Management Agency said red flag alarms had been erected along the coastline to warn people from entering the sea.
"I call on vacationers to be careful,” he said.
"It is recommended not to swim until tomorrow afternoon.”
Surmanidze said lifeguards were patrolling the beach and were tasked to deter people from entering the water.
The temporary swimming ban will be lifted as soon as the storm poses no more danger, Surmanidze said.
A potential storm that threatened the safety of swimmers in Batumi no longer poses a threat causing experts to lift a swimming ban in the Black Sea coastal resort town.
A powerful storm is lashing western Georgia’s Adjara region where heavy rain is causing havoc on infrastructure in Batumi.
Flooded homes have been evacuated in several villages as swollen rivers in western Georgia keep rising.
The central streets of Georgia’s seaside town Batumi are full of water; flats are flooded and debris from landslides hit several roads in the region – the result of last night’s heavy rainfall that fell for two hours straight.
Rescuers saved the lives of 16 people who were caught up in a major storm in Georgia’s west coast yesterday.