Road connection to 7 villages restored, 5 still cut off following flood in western Georgia

Access to seven villages affected by heavy rain and flooding in western Georgia's Racha province has been restored, with the five other villages still without proper road connection to the rest of the country.

The Roads Department of Georgia said on Saturday its professionals were accessing some of the localities through temporary bypass roads while also working to bring River Rioni, overflowing following heavy rain on Juy 28, back to its streambed.

Of the temporary roads set up to access the locations while work on proper road connections continues, two were set up on Friday to the villages of Jintsvisi and Gona, the department said.

Gaps in roads have been formed as the overflowing River Rioni collapsed the sections during the rain. Photo via Roads Department of Georgia.

Infrastructure professionals involved in the work are faced with sections of roads that collapsed during the flood, creating gaps in the connections to the villages. In total the gaps comprise about two kilometres in length.

Partial power has already been restored to 11 of the 12 villages affected by the natural disaster, with specialists working to provide power using generators in the meanwhile.

While work on restoring infrastructure proceeds, the interior ministry is operating its helicopters to transport those who choose to leave the cut-off villages to the city of Oni. Nine flights have been carried out so far to bring 80 people out.

Heavy rains hit the Oni Municipality on Tuesday, washing away 10 bridges and stranding about 2,000 residents in the villages left without road connection.