Landslide alert by Matchavariani Street and nearby slopes in Tbilisi

Matchavariani Street and the nearby slopes in Tbilisi have been put on a landslide alert after a fissure appeared on slopes earlier this month.

Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi Irakli Bendeliani says that the situation is being monitored and German geoengineers will also help to solve the problem next week.

Bendeliani said that following recommendations from experts Matchavariani Street has already been closed and specialists are already trying to identify the cause of the fissure which will be announced 'in the coming days.’ 

However, he shared his own doubts about the causes of the fissure, indicating 'the actions taken on Machavariani Street and the surrounding slopes in recent years', which might intensify landslide processes. 

Bendeliani meant the construction of a new road connecting Marshal Gelovani Avenue to Mukhran Machavariani street (Lisi Road), which launched in 2018. 

The construction of several residential buildings are taking place nearby the territory which have been damaged by the fissure. Photo: Billy Bilikhodze/Facebook.

Geologists said that construction on this slope should not be overloaded, as construction creates a danger of earth movement. They say that if rains continue the slope may slide off completely.

Head of the Department of Geography of the Institute of Earth and Science and National Seismic Monitoring Centre Lasha Sukhishvili told the local media outlet On.ge that the fissure might have appeared as early as several weeks ago. 

This fissure did not occur yesterday, because we saw traces on the ground, groups have worked there, markers are framed that seem to count the speed of movement of the fissure. What we saw in the photos of the social network, we can suppose that about half a million cubic meters of land has cracked. It is unimaginable to stop the landslide - it will slide off completely or will be brought down artificially", he said.

Experts suppose that about half a million cubic meters of land has cracked. Photo: Forum.ge.

Seismologist Tea Godoladze told TV Formula that the danger is the same as it was in Tbilisi's Vake-Saburtalo district on June 13, 2015.

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In this case the landslide process is in dynamics and the reinforcement works no longer make sense. Absolutely everything has to stop in this area", she said.

Information and photos of the fissure were spread on the online forum, forum.ge and on March 16, Tbilisi City Hall temporarily restricted the movement on Matchavariani street, from the building of the Emergency Call Management Center to Vashlijvari settlement.