Gov’t to assist locals affected by landslide in western Chiatura municipality

Officials in the western Georgian municipality of Chiatura on Thursday met locals and promised they would “not be left without attention” following a landslide in the locality that damaged 17 houses as well as road connections.

Leri Barnabishvili, the Head of the Regional Liaison Department of the Government Administration,  Zviad Shalamberidze, the State Representative in the Imereti region, and Givi Modebadze, the Mayor of Chiatura, met with locals who told them the soil in the area was still on the move, making the affected locations unsafe for residence.

Locals said the house was damaged several days ago as a result of the landscape. Photo: from Giorgi Makhatadze's Facebook

Barnabishvili said the families whose houses had been damaged would be provided temporary accommodation, with  the expenses covered by the Chiatura City Hall. He also said the causes of the landslide would become known “only after geologists make a detailed conclusion.”

Chiatura City Hall has set up a special commission to calculate the damage to property of each family in the landslide.

Residents said they suspected the landslides to be a result of drilling operations for extracting manganese from the soil in the location, carried out by the Georgian Manganese company.

The company on Thursday denied carrying out mining operations in the area, but added it was “in active communication with all relevant authorities in selecting the form and type of assistance” to locals.