Georgia’s Black Sea town Kobuleti hit by heavy rain

Heavy rain is bucketing down in Georgia’s seaside town Kobuleti.

Kobuleti streets are full of water; several flats are flooded, streets are closed and residents in several villages in Adjara region have been evacuated as the risk of landslides increases due to soggy ground resulting from last night’s heavy rain.

The rain started overnight and after raining heavily for three hours, parts of the Adjara region became flooded. As of midday Thursday, the rain was continuing to fall.

Overnight and earlier today emergency response teams from nearby regions Guria, Imereti and Samegrelo went to Kobuleti to help locals clean the streets. Specifically the response teams helped remove vehicles from flooded streets and once the rain stopped they will begin to pump water away from residential areas.

Kobuleti streets are full of water; several flats are flooded. Photo by Facebook user Tatia Diasamdze.

Kobuleti Governor Sulkhan Evgenidze said the Achkva River had burst its banks and flooded parts of Kobuleti as a result of the ongoing heavy rain.

Mainly the Kobuleti railway station nearby territory has flooded. There are some dangerous places in Kobuleti’s villages where it is possible a landslide will develop but we evacuated people and closed the streets so it is not dangerous for people,” he said.

The heavy rain caused large-scale power cuts; approximately 14,000 people are without power in Kobuleti and nearby villages. Power сompany Energo-pro Georgia reported the electricity supply would gradually be fully restored to the affected population.

The water hit the first floor of the house.  Photo by Facebook user Tatia Diasamdze.

Meanwhile heavy rain was forecast for much of the country today.

Today and tomorrow the temperature was expected to range between 17-22C in the lowlands of western Georgia. Tomorrow, October 9, the sun was expected to return in the west but in eastern Georgia temperatures will drop, said head of the hydro-meteorological service Svetlana Nioradze.