More wild weather threatens western Georgia

Weather experts are warning western Georgian residents and visitors to brace for another major storm that could damage homes, infrastructure and crops.

Forecasters predicted a magnitude five storm will hit western Georgia’s Adjara region tonight as locals continued to pick up the pieces from Sunday’s magnitude four heavy rains.

Local authorities said mobile groups had been set up across the region and were tasked to manage the emergency situations as the weather conditions worsened.

Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara Archil Khabadze said Adjara municipality representatives would be fully mobilised to promptly react to the possible crisis.

The mobile groups would be coordinated by the emergency headquarters, which was created at the request of Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Officials said people were still recovering from the effects of last weekend’s heavy rain.

On Saturday and Sunday a powerful storm caused havoc on infrastructure in the Black Sea costal area. Streets of Batumi city were flooded as a result of the two-day heavy rainstorm.

Emergency Management teams from Tbilisi were sent to Batumi to pump water out of flooded buildings in the city.

The heavy rainstorm caused a landslide at several villages in Adjara which caused serious damage to 13 houses.

Yesterday President Giorgi Margvelashvili travelled to Adjara to personally check the effects of the disaster and offer support to locals.