Specific data from water level measuring station show no waterlogging before Shovi landslide - Deputy Environment Minister

Nino Tandilashvili, the Georgian Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, on Sunday said the data analysis obtained from the water level measuring station located on the Chanchakhi River showed no signs of water accumulation before a landslide in western Georgia’s Shovi resort on Thursday, which killed at least 18 people.

In an interview with Imedi TV, Tandilashvili responded to the recent reports that allegedly the water in the valley near the disaster area had been “logged for several days” and called it “misinformation”, explaining that the data analysis showed nothing of the kind.

The Deputy Minister called on everyone to refrain from spreading unverified information “amid the high emotional backdrop” and stressed specialists would answer “all relevant questions”. “There is a great public interest, a high emotional background, and we should not mislead our society and further aggravate the already difficult emotional situation”, she added.

• Five geological, hydrological processes converged during disaster in Georgia’s west - National Environmental Agency

Tandilashvili said a conclusion regarding the Shovi disaster would be published today, which would answer the “important questions” based on the data obtained from meteorological, hydrological, or different types of stations and devices, as well as from the detailed inspection of the area by the six groups of specialists.

She stressed “several natural events” had converged, which led to a “large-scale” disaster in Shovi, explaining that the rock avalanche had broken off in the valley and caused a massive natural process, accompanied by mudslides and landslides. 

Tandilashvili noted that predicting a disaster of “such scale” was “practically impossible”.