Ozurgeti Mayor says patients in need of dialysis treatment transferred to clinics from heavy snow-affected locations in west

Avtandil Talakvadze, the Mayor of the Ozurgeti Municipality in Georgia's western Guria region, on Tuesday said patients in need of dialysis treatment and other planned medical care had been transferred to clinics after heavy snowfall in the region over the recent days has created complications of access to populated areas.

The Mayor added special equipment, emergency and rescue situations services, as well as ambulance assistance had been mobilised “from the very first minutes” after the adverse weather hit the region to ensure accessibility in the locality which he said had “not seen a natural phenomenon of this type for the last 40 years”.

The official said the local municipality had used a special ambulance van purchased recently by the Georgian Government to save the life of a local who had fallen from a roof in heavy snowfall, alleging the purchase of the vehicle had “become a subject of cynicism by the [domestic] opposition and its media that have been in ambush mode”.

Talakvadze also rejected claims that municipalities in the region had not properly prepared for the winter season as a “lie”, adding the situation was being “deliberately politicised, which subsequently sows panic among people”.

There has been such a large amount of precipitation in our region that Guria does not remember, therefore it is logical there would be problems with transportation”, he pointed out, adding it was currently “impossible to estimate the scale” of the damage.

The Mayor added one individual had died after the collapse of a building in the village of Konchkati in Ozurgeti Municipality.

He also said rescuers had managed to get in touch with a family that had been stranded by the adverse weather, adding those involved in the efforts were “slowly trying to reach everywhere, in all directions, so that the main roads and accessibility are fully restored”.

The Georgian Defence Forces on Tuesday joined the ongoing rescue and clearing efforts, with the work organised in the various regions that have been affected by the snowfall.