Death toll from Shovi landslide hits 32
The landslide hit cottages and other infrastructure in the resort in the afternoon of August 3, with over 200 people evacuated from the area during subsequent efforts. Photo: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
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Rescuers have recovered the body of the 32nd victim of the Shovi resort landslide in Georgia’s west, with one person still missing, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday.
The Ministry said the search operations continued with rescuers, heavy equipment, drones, boats and a group of cynologists working in locations adjacent to the epicentre of the disaster zone.
The landslide hit cottages and other infrastructure in the resort in the afternoon of August 3, with over 200 people evacuated from the area during subsequent efforts.
Over 800 professionals from the Emergency Management Service and the country’s Defence Forces have been involved in search and rescue efforts in the aftermath.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Sunday arrived in the disaster-affected zone in the western municipality of Oni, where a landslide killed at least 24 on August 3 and expressed his “deepest sorrow” to the families of the deceased, noting relevant units “have done their best in the shortest possible time” in disaster relief efforts.
Temur Mgebrishvili, the Head of the Emergency Management Service on Sunday said intensive works were actively proceeding in the disaster area in the country’s western Shovi resort, following the landslide that killed at least 24 people on August 3.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Friday said 103 units of heavy hardware were being used in 10 locations for the search and clearing operations in the disaster-affected zone in the western municipality of Oni, where a landslide killed at least 24 last week.
Teimuraz Mgebrishvili, the head of the Emergency Management Service of Georgia, on Thursday said the Government had used “all resources available” and ensured “far more than reasonable effort” to respond to the landslide in the country’s western Shovi resort last week that killed 21 people.
The landslide in the western Georgian municipality of Oni that killed at least 18 people in the Shovi resort on August 3 was caused by intense melting of glaciers, collapse of rock formations in their headwaters, heavy rains, erosive processes and a glacier runoff, a preliminary report by the National Environmental Agency said on Monday.
Search and rescue works are continuing in the western Georgian municipality of Oni following the landslide killed at least 18 in the Shovi resort five days ago, with the latest casualty discovered on Sunday.
Flags on state institutions across Georgia were on Monday lowered to half-mast in mourning of the victims of the landslide that had hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort on Thursday, killing at least 18.
Georgian Defence Forces on Friday said its units had departed to 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 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 unveiled a financial support package for families of victims of the landslide in the Shovi resort in August and announced support for those displaced by floods and landslides in the Guria region earlier this month.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Friday said claims by domestic opposition of delays in the rescue operation in the aftermath of the landslide in western Georgia’s Shovi resort that killed 32 people last month was a “wrong judgement and a lie”.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Friday told the Parliament the Government's response to the deadly landslide in the Shovi resort in the country’s west that killed 32 people in August had been “effective and timely”, while also detailing “genuine improvements” in the Emergency Management Service.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said a reconstruction of western Georgia’s Shovi resort, which was hit by a deadly landslide in August, was “not recommended”, and added state authorities would hold consultations to establish compensations for those who had held land or infrastructure in ownership in the locality.