Swiss consulting company completes initial research of threats in glacial valleys across Georgia

Experts from the international consulting Swiss company GEOTEST AG have completed the initial phase of research in 22 glacial valleys across Georgia in collaboration with the National Environment Agency for identifying potential threats arising from glacial activity, the latter body said on Wednesday.

Vasil Gedevanishvili, the Head of the Agency, said the next steps would involve a detailed identification of dangers and risks on glaciers in the country. He added it was important to conduct “scientifically sound research”, particularly in light of “recent misinformation” around the landslide that hit the western resort Shovi last year and claimed 33 lives.

He also backed a study of his office’s treatment of the development around the resort and rejected criticism of its handling of the issue.

Based on modern technology adopted worldwide, all processes were identified, assessed, and calculated, serving as the foundation for the Agency's conclusion. The recent claims suggesting that the disaster began two hours earlier in Shovi are purely speculative and not supported by research findings. These claims could be viewed as an attempt to mislead the public”, he said.

Daniel Tobler, an expert from the Swiss company, outlined the upcoming phase of the research, which will focus on studying existing or potential landslide processes, characterising alluvial deposits, and identifying critical hot spots within the next two months.

Our primary goal is to decrease the actual risk present in settlements, identify critical areas, and then proceed to monitor these hotspots. We will make this determination at the end. Shovi serves as an example we are using because it was a real event. Based on the results, we can evaluate all the simulation scenarios and focus on estimating hotspots”, he said.

The Agency said the plans included visual inspections and evaluations of the glacial valleys from helicopters, which would determine subsequent activities.