New evacuation path improves safety in Devdoraki Gorge
200m path ensures safe exodus in natural disasters
Tweet 
Share
The Government of Georgia has taken action to improve safety and reduce effects of natural disasters facing people who move on the road daily in the high-risk landslide zone in the country’s northeast.
Today officials announced a new evacuation path had been built in Devdoraki Gorge that allowed people to safely exit the area during and after a natural disaster. Devdoraki Gorge is located near the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint.
The new evacuation path will be particularly useful for transit drivers who take goods from Georgia and over the border to Russia, and for tourists who visit the nearby Monastery and the Georgia-Russia border.
The evacuation path was created through a partnership between the Roads Department of Georgia and Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
The evacuation path measured 208.4m long and 2.25m wide. It is located at the 136km of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi (Georgian Military Highway) road.
The evacuation path begins at the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint and ends at Dariali Monastery. Here a special evacuation point was built where a helicopter can land to evacuate people, when needed.
The evacuation path measured 208.4m long and 2.25m wide. Photo by the Roads Department of Georgia.
This was the first project of its kind in Georgia that allowed people driving on the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road and employees of the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint to move safely out of the danger zone during a natural disaster, said officials involved in the project.
About 1.73 million GEL (about $75,000€67,000*) was invested to build the new evacuation path. Construction of the path started in June 2015.
The last landslide to hit Devdoraki Gorge was in June 2016. It caused significant problems and blocked roads and the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint.
However early warning systems installed in the Gorge last year meant relevant agencies were able to react quickly to the landslide.
The National Agency of Environment was able to send immediate emergency signals to other state agencies about the landslide, and to quickly evacuate people from the danger area and block the roads to avoid casualties.
The fast response meant there were no victims, said authorities.
*Currencies are equivalent with the latest National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.
The recent natural disasters in west and northeast Georgia and the effects on the local population were the focus of today’s Governmental meeting in capital Tbilisi.
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.
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.
The construction of a new tunnel at the crossing of the Dariali and Devdorak gorges has begun in northern Georgia.
The Kazbegi Customs checkpoint at Georgia-Russia border has temporarily suspended all operations due to bad weather conditions.
Traffic has been resumed in the Dariali Gorge in northern Georgia and the Kazbegi Customs checkpoint has continued all operations, announces the Revenue Service of Georgia’s Ministry of Finance.
A weather station has been installed by the Ministry of Environment protection in Georgia’s mountainous regions of Kazbegi, 2940 meters above sea level.
The average temperature in Georgia will likely be 1-2 degrees higher this summer than usual, says the National Environmental Agency noting that the amount of rainfall will be less than average in east Georgia.