State will compensate for storm damage in Georgia’s west, says PM

Residents of western Georgia’s Adjara and Guria regions will be offered compensation to cover the cost of the damage caused by the heavy storm that is lashing the country’s Black Sea coastal area.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili will inspect the damage later today after announcing he will visit Adjara and Guria at this morning’s Governmental meeting. This morning he also announced the state would offer compensation to those affected by the storm.

The country’s western areas have been hit by heavy rain and strong wind for the past eight days, with homes, crops and schools damaged by the unsettled weather.

Much of the area was significantly flooded, while heavy rain damaged roads and bridges and left some families isolated.

Today, the PM said the Security and Crisis Management Council mobile support groups were in place to promptly assist those in need. He said 774 heavy machines, 22 water pumps, 2,000 rescue officers from the Interior Ministry and 94 ambulance crews had been sent to the affect regions.

Last night, Interior Ministry Coast Guard officers responded to a stricken vessel that had broken away from its mooring. The 106-tonne ship ELITA, which belonged to the Makhinjauri Maritime College, and its crew were rescued by the Coast Guard after the storm swept the boat out to sea.

"Coast Guard officers successfully carried out a rescue operation and managed to save the ship as well as its crew members by escorting them to Batumi Port,” the Interior Ministry reported.

Meanwhile the weather is set to ease today. Weather experts said once the weather calmed down it would be possible to evaluate the extent of the damage caused by the strong wind and major flooding in Georgia’s western regions.