UPDATE: rescuers recover body of minor from landslide-hit area in Georgia’s west
Landslides hit a number of locations in western Georgia amid heavy rainfalls on Thursday and Friday. Photo: Avtandil Talakvadze
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Updated: 12:41
Rescuers working in a landslide-hit area in Georgia’s west on Friday recovered a body of a minor in the village of Jumati of Ozurgeti municipality.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the recovery that follows damage and disruptions caused by heavy rain and landslides in Guria and Adjara regions on Thursday and early Friday.
One minor and an adult still remain missing in the localities affected by the landslides, the body added, noting houses had been flooded or swept away, while bridges, roads and other infrastructure were “severely damaged” in the affected municipalities.
The Ministry said its employees from different units were present at the scene and heavy hardware was involved in rescue and clearing efforts, urging the public to refrain from movement throughout the areas and follow instructions of state agencies.
Eleven individuals, including children, have been evacuated from the disaster zone, Rustavi 2 TV channel reported on Friday, adding the Samtredia-Lanchkhuti-Grigoleti central highway had been flooded, with a section temporarily closed to traffic.
Earlier:11:58
Three individuals, including two minors, are missing after a landslide hit Guria and Adjara regions in Georgia’s west on Thursday and early on Friday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said on Friday.
The Public Safety Command Centre received more than 100 notifications from the affected zone, the body added, noting the landslide had flooded residential houses, uprooted trees and damaged infrastructure, while several villages in Guria were cut off following heavy rainfall and subsequent landslides.
Ozurgeti Mayor said all responsible state agencies had been involved in the disaster response activities, with heavy hardware involved in rescue and cleaning efforts.
Search and rescue efforts have been ensured in the affected municipalities and all notifications are being gradually responded to, the Ministry said.
Local authorities in the Guria village of Jikhanjiri of Lanchkhuti municipality have assessed the situation as “extremely difficult” and said a landslide swept away houses, destroyed bridges and other infrastructure.
About 10 houses have been reported destroyed in Lanchkhuti municipality alone.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said units from the Georgian Defence Forces would join the ongoing search and rescue operations in the western municipality of Oni to find remaining survivors after a landslide killed at least 11 in the Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday left for the area in western Georgia’s Shovi resort hit by a landslide on Thursday, the Government Administration said.
The Interior Ministry said about 40 individuals have been evacuated from the disaster zone in Georgia’s western Shovi resort, after a landslide hit the area earlier during the day.
Eleven days are left until the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia when voters will elect 64 mayors and 2,068 members in 64 city councils. The lead up to the elections has been marked by the ruling party’s withdrawal from the April 19 EU-mediated agreement, an attack on journalists by right-wing activists in July during Tbilisi Pride events, the recent leak of alleged personal files and continued vows of Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili that he will return.
Two bodies have been recovered and about 50 individuals, including children, evacuated after landslides and flood hit the Guria and Adjara regions in Georgia's west on Thursday and early on Friday, the Georgian Interior Ministry confirmed on Friday.
Rescuers of the Emergency Management Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Friday found the third body in the disaster zone in Georgia's western Guria region, which was hit by landslides and flood this week.
At least 200 individuals have been evacuated from landslide-hit areas of the Guria region in Georgia’s west following heavy rains, flood and landslides last week that killed three, local authorities said on Monday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said 105 families would be offered alternative accommodation after landslides and flood hit the Guria region in the country’s west last week, pledging “maximum” support for disaster-affected communities.
Avtandil Talakvadze, the Mayor of the Ozurgeti Municipality in Georgia's western Guria region, on Wednesday said 152 families had received compensation from the Government following the landslide and flood that hit the locality in September.