Early warning systems to be installed in Georgia
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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.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili announced the initiative in Chuberi village of Georgia’s Mestia municipality which was damaged by yesterday’s landslide and consequent flooding.
Davitashvili said that the installation of the early warning system will start this year.
"The Ministry of Environment and Agriculture will start installing early warning stations this year and in about two-three years all of Georgia will be covered by these stations”, said Davitashvili.
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.
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.
The Georgian Environment Ministry plans to design a monitoring and warning system for forest fires across Georgia that will give early notice of an impending disaster. Negotiations with foreign donors and experts have already launched.
International experts are working in northern Georgia’s mountainous area to design a landslide warning system that will give notice to the population of an impending natural disaster.
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.
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.
The Georgian government has approved the Natural Disaster Prevention Programme for which 20 million GEL will be allocated from the state budget.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Monday summarised the Government's efforts to strengthen hydrometeorological monitoring systems throughout the country at a press briefing held following Monday’s Government meeting.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia on Monday said up to 150 new meteorological and hydrological monitoring stations would be set up across Georgia over the next year.
Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia on Wednesday met Kirsti Narinen, Finland’s Ambassador to the South Caucasus, to discuss prospects of cooperation for reducing risks and disasters posed by climate change.