UPDATED: 7 of 10 villages in Chuberi cut off from outside world as a result of disaster, no casualties
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UPDATED: 19:10
Work to deal with the damage caused by the flooding disaster in Chuberi, Mestia municipality continues.
Specialists expect rain today however the level of water in the river Nenskra has not increased so far.
Minister for Refugees Sozar Subari said seven of ten villages across the Chuberi community have been cut off from the outside world while three houses are in danger of collapsing. Two houses are not salvageable while rescuers are actively working to save a third from the water flow.
"There is no increased danger but there still are several road parts to be restored. Five people will be evacuated from the village during the day including children. More than 20 trucks and up to 10 excavators will be provided by the end of the day meaning we will be able to work faster and adjust the river back into its bed,” Subari added.
According to data released by the National Environmental Agency, the level of water in the Nenskra river has decreased by 30 centimeters compared to yesterday.
Earlier: July 6, 18:58
The Georgian Minister for Refugees Sozar Subari has stated that 21 houses and the local infrastructure have been heavily damaged in the village of Tchuberi in Mestia, on the second day of flooding of the river Nenskra.
21 houses are damaged. 7-9 of the houses are not likely to be habitable when the disaster ends,” Subari stated.
The Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, who arrived at the scene today, vowed the timely rehabilitation or the purchase of houses, as well as compensation for the affected population.
He stated that if the specialists say that certain places in the village will not be habitable in the future, the government of Georgia will relocate some families.
We will restore the infrastructure and help locals to continue living as before as soon as possible. We will also be focused on prevention of natural disaster risks,” Bakhtadze said.
EARLIER: July 6, 14:42
A landslide has caused the Nenskra river to flood Chuberi village of Mestia municipality in Svaneti region, necessitating the evacuation of several families and causing severe damage to local roads and bridges.The engineers of the Roads Department are trying to replace four destroyed bridges with temporary constructions in order to allow locals to move from one side of the river to another in the disaster zone.
Heavy machinery has been mobilised to return the Nenskra back into its riverbed.
Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze has set off for Chuberi with the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Maia Tskitishvili and the Minister of Environment and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili this morning.
"We expect the water level to decrease. Food, water and medication has been provided to the valley. Some people that were cut off from the outside world have been evacuated but we continue the 24 hour monitoring of the valley,” PM Bakhtadze said, adding that illegal tree felling in the area may have increased the extent of the damage.
About 150 emergency rescue personnel, heavy equipment, helicopters, police and local government representatives are in Chuberi to react to the level of the water.
Six families have been evacuated so far and provided with alternate shelter. There are no casualties.
A sudden flooding of the river Nenska in the village of Tchuberi in Svaneti region has cut the village off from the rest of Georgia, as all five bridges have been destroyed, infrastructure has been heavily damaged and many of the houses are in water.
Georgia’s Emergency Management Service employees have managed to save five people in west Georgia who were standing in a precarious position on an artificial hillock that emerged after the flooding of the river Rioni.
Several villages in the Kobuleti Municipality in the coastal Adjara region were drastically flooded. Small village rivers swell over their riverbeds, flooding nearby roads and sweeping away a bridge connecting two villages.
June is yet again proving to be a difficult month for Georgia in terms of weather. Heavy rainfall over the past several days has caused major infrastructural problems in the Samegrelo region in the western part of Georgia.
In about three years early warning systems will be installed throughout Georgia, enabling the population to receive relevant and timely information in a systematic way prior to disasters in order to make informed decisions and take action.
The President of Georgia, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the country, has issued a decree allowing the emergency response group to use the Georgian military forces to deal with the current flooding and landslide disaster in Mestia municipality.
Powerful rain has resulted in the flooding of houses and streets in the Gardabani, Gori, Signagi and Lagodekhi municipalities last night.
The ice collapsed about 400 meters away from the glacier tongue yesterday and caused a large amount of water in the valley threatening the nearest rivers to flood. Specialists from the National Environmental Agency suggest that the collapse has been caused by the intense melting of the glacier during summer.
In order to prevent severe consequences of flooding in the village of Tchuberi, Svaneti, the National Environmental Agency of Georgia has installed hydrometeorological measuring devices on the Nenskra River.
The Georgian government has approved the Natural Disaster Prevention Programme for which 20 million GEL will be allocated from the state budget.