Passengers helicoptered as landslide blocks Georgia-Russia road
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People wanting to go to Russia from Georgia are being helicoptered to the border by Georgian police after a landslide blocked the only road linking the two countries.
A one kilometre section of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi Rd (Georgian Military Highway) that links Georgia and Russia remains closed following the June 23 landslide in northern Georgia’s Devdoraki Gorge. The natural disaster meant a checkpoint at the Georgia-Russia border cannot be reached by road transport.
Today Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said the agency's own helicopters were being used to airlift passengers over the blocked area and get them to the checkpoint.
Up to 60 people were transported via helicopter from Stepantsminda to the Dariali Gorge, from where they were escorted by police to the Larsi checkpoint at the border with Russia.
Georgia’s Road Department said all vehicles were banned from moving along the 134-135km section of the Military Highway, as it had been completely destroyed by the landslide.
Geologists suggested recent heavy rains caused a solid mass of land that had settled in Devdoraki River following a major landslide in 2014 to become unstable and start moving. The moving land mass reached the area where Devdoraki River joined Tergi River, and subsequently blocked the river in the evening of June 23.
This caused Tergi River to swell, and forge a new route however this raging water completely swept away an 800m section of the road near the Devdoraki glacier.
Georgia’s First Vice President, Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili believes it take about two weeks to rebuild a section of road that was swept away by a mud flow in northern Georgia yesterday.
A landslide has fallen in Devdoraki Gorge in northern Georgia, blocking roads and a checkpoint at the Georgia-Russia border.
Georgia suggests alternative routes
Georgia’s Interior Ministry is offering several alternative routes for people wanting to go to Russia from Georgia but can’t as a landslide still blocks only road linking the two countries.
The only road linking Georgia and Russia is reopening today after being blocked by a landslide for 10 the past days. Georgia’s Road Department announced the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi Road would fully reopen at 5pm today.
The main road connecting Georgia and Russia has been closed again as meteorologists suggest the weather will worsen and another landslide could occur, potentially damaging the road and other infrastructure.
200m path ensures safe exodus in natural disasters
The Government of Georgia has taken action to improve safety and reduce effects of natural disasters facing people who live and work in the high-risk landslide zone in the country’s northeast.
Large piles of stones and mud have blocked the section of Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road, connecting Georgia with Russia.
The construction of a new tunnel at the crossing of the Dariali and Devdorak gorges has begun in northern Georgia.
Georgia’s National Environment Agency and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University are launching a new project to monitor glaciers using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Specialists of the National Environmental Agency have been mobilised to study the situation and find the reason behind the incident.