Heavy snow halts unloading ships at Batumi sea port
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Heavy snowfall hits Georgia’s Black Sea town Batumi, hampers entering ships to the port.
Batumi port has been closed for the fourth days already due to the heavy snow and the magnitude four storm.
The captain of the Batumi port Tengiz Gadilia announced the heavy snow and storm had caused delay in both the schedule of ships and unloading of goods.
On December 30 midday we were warned of an approaching storm. For this reason we have closed the port. The arrival of ships was hampered because of the bad weather. At the same time the port was full and there was no place for the new ships. The last ship arrived on December 30 and the port was closed,” said Gadilia.
In his words, unloading of imported goods from the ships at Batumi port has remained almost suspended for the last four days due to the heavy snow and storm.
Some ships cannot be unloaded as they are covered with snow. It was impossible to unload a ship which was loaded with wheat. There was another ship carried oil and we could not unload that ship as well,” Gadili added.
Meanwhile, the heavy snowfall and frost has created problems for Batumi’s residents. The local ambulance service reported, they received 13 calls concerning ice fall incidents. Batumi Emergency Centre received five injured people.
The head of the Batumi Sanitary Service said clean-up efforts will be carried out in the city.
Two flights at the international airport in Kutaisi - Georgia’s second largest city - have been postponed after heavy snow hit the area. The weather affected Warsaw-Kutaisi and Kutaisi-Warsaw flights, both of which were scheduled early this morning.
Georgia’s seaside town Batumi is known among local and foreign holiday makers as a jewel in the Black Sea that offers warm sea, great weather, delicious food and a bustling nightlife.
Heavy snowfall throughout Georgia has caused problems and restrictions are in place on some roads following the threat of storm, avalanches and icing.The Road Department of Georgia imposed restrictions on several roads, mainly in the country’s mountainous regions.
From December 31 up to now 700 emergency calls were received by the Emergency Situation Management Centre of Georgia and almost of them have been immediately reacted on.
Low visibility in western Georgia has affected the normal functioning of Kutaisi International Airport. Two international flights that were scheduled to depart from Kutaisi were announced to depart from Tbilisi instead.
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has instructed head of the Government Administration’s Department of Relations with Regions and Local Self-governing Bodies, Giorgi Amashukeli to arrive in western Georgia - the area that was most affected by the bad weather conditions – and monitor the work that was underway.
An online fundraiser is helping restore a popular Batumi book store damaged by heavy snow in Georgia's seaside city that hit the coastal region in the first days of the New Year.
Winter is in full force in Georgia. Heavy snowfall and unusually strong frosts closed 200 schools across the country. Ice, low visibility and deep snow cover is causing major problems on roads throughout Georgia.
The Gudauri-Kobi section of eastern Georgia’s Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi route is closed for all vehicles due to storm and low visibility, Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure announced today. The Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road is the route linking Georgia with Russia.
The Gudauri-Kobi section of eastern Georgia’s Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi route is closed for all vehicles due to heavy snow and avalanche threats, reports Georgia’s National Environment Agency.