Harsh winter hits Georgia in full force
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Winter is in full force in Georgia.
Heavy snowfall and unusually strong frosts closed 200 schools across the country.
Deep snow cover blocked roads in western Georgia. Photo: Kobuleti Municipality; á¥ááá£ááááá¡ áá£áááªáááááá¢áá¢á/Facebook
Ice, low visibility and deep snow cover is causing major problems on roads throughout Georgia. Holidaymakers today were unable to reach Georgia’s top ski resort Gudauri, as an avalanche threat in the area saw officials close the road.
Meanwhile other roads linking several municipalities in eastern Kakheti region was only open to traffic with anti-skid chains.
The Adjara region in western Georgia’s Black Sea coastal area faced the biggest problems last night and this morning; snow cover reached one metre in Adjara’s main city Batumi.
Frozen Lake
Photographer: Lana Oragvelidze. Source: áááá£áá/Batumi/Facebook
For the first time in the past three decades Nurigeli Lake in central Batumi froze. In the city’s history the lake has previously frozen only four times; in 1911, 1928, 1949 and 1985.
Isolated villages
Photo: Kobuleti Municipality; á¥ááá£ááááá¡ áá£áááªáááááá¢áá¢á/Facebook
Roads linking Adjara’s municipal centres and mountain villages were blocked by snow. Off-Road Club Adjara members offered their cars to doctors as ambulances were unable to reach patients in remote villages.
Canceled flights
Bad weather has affected the normal functioning of Batumi International Airport. Heavy snow cancelled Batumi-Istanbul and Istanbul-Batumi flights. The Airport Administration was unsure when the facility could resume its normal flight schedule.
Photo: Kobuleti Municipality; á¥ááá£ááááá¡ áá£áááªáááááá¢áá¢á/Facebook
In Kobuleti Municipality thick snow cover destroyed the roof of a residential house, leaving a four-person family with no shelter.
Problems arose in Guria and Imereti regions too. Heavy machinery cleaned roads all night after heavy snow blocked the routes.
Central and local Governments worked together to cope with the problems caused by snow in western Georgia. Photo: Kobuleti Municipality; á¥ááá£ááááá¡ áá£áááªáááááá¢áá¢á/Facebook
Several hundred families were left without electricity and water supply after snow and frost destroyed wires and pipes.
In these areas the weather has slightly improved this afternoon. Snow has stopped falling and electricity supply has been mainly restored.
Georgia’s weather officials said temperatures throughout the country would be below zero tonight but from tomorrow frosts would gradually weaken.
Heavy snowfall hits Georgia’s Black Sea town Batumi, hampers entering ships to the port.
Georgia’s seaside town Batumi is known among local and foreign holiday makers as a jewel in the Black Sea that offers warm sea, great weather, delicious food and a bustling nightlife.
A leading Austrian helicopter company is coming to Georgia to offer heli-skiing in Georgia’s top winter resort.
Heavy snowfall, low visibility and ice has caused problems on roads throughout Georgia. The Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia today announced several road sections were currently facing restrictions.
Georgia’s Deputy Interior Ministers Shalva Khutsishvili and Merab Malania met with the parents and relatives of the lost hunters and briefed them about the current search activities.
A dog has been rescued today after being buried alive for several hours under a mound of snow in eastern Georgia. Rescue officers from Georgia’s Interior Ministry saved the struggled animal in the Kabali Gorge in Lagodekhi district of eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region.
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has instructed head of the Government Administration’s Department of Relations with Regions and Local Self-governing Bodies, Giorgi Amashukeli to arrive in western Georgia - the area that was most affected by the bad weather conditions – and monitor the work that was underway.
From December 31 up to now 700 emergency calls were received by the Emergency Situation Management Centre of Georgia and almost of them have been immediately reacted on.