Heavy rain causes floods in Adjara Region
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, October 9
Heavy rain caused flooding in a number of municipalities in the Adjara region on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
According to the local government in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, the town of Kobuleti and the nearby villages were affected the most.
The water level in the streets is high and it damaged both the infrastructure and the first floors of many houses, destroying much furniture and household utilities in the process.
Strong wind accompanied the disaster and ripped off the roofs of several houses in the municipality.
Heavy rain caused power cut in Kobuleti. Water reached the power station and 14,000 customers were left without power at the moment.
Also, the road was closed between Kobuleti and Batumi for an hour due to the flood.
According to locals, bus and train stations were also flooded in Kobuleti, which caused the delay of Batumi-Tbilisi bound trains.
The emergency services are working in Kobuleti. Rescue teams from the Guria, Imereti and Samegrelo regions are currently working in the disaster area.
The swollen river Bzana destroyed the bridge and the road was closed to the village Dologani, Keda District. Several houses were hit by mudslides and destroyed winter supplies and corps in many gardens.
According to the authorities, heavy rain swelled the river Atchkva, flooding roads in at least seven villages of the Kobuleti municipality.
The governor of Kobuleti, Sulkhan Evgenidze, stated that several landslides occurred in the mountainous villages of ATHE djara region.
“By the time the weather haD got better, pumping and rescue works were launched. The rainfall was so abundant that we could not cope with it properly. All emergency service rescue personnel have been mobilized and we are taking the most affected people out of their houses,” he said.
According to the governor, a special headquarters has been created and a hot line has been established, which affected people can call and request help.
