A Facebook group – “Volunteers for Guria” – has been created to help those affected by heavy snowfall and natural disasters in the western region of Georgia.
For several days, snow has been falling across Georgia. The snowfall is particularly heavy in western Georgia, particularly in Adjara and Guria. Some villages there have been cut off and are without electricity and gas, while roads in and out are blocked.
“The situation in Guria’s Lanchkhuti Municipality is difficult due to intense snowfall, – the mayor of the municipality,” Aleksandre Sarishvili announced.
He claimed that additional equipment has been mobilized and the population may have to be evacuated.
“The situation in Lanchkhuti Municipality is difficult due to intense snowfall, and it is still snowing. We have already mobilized additional equipment and are now heading in different directions to evacuate people or to clear the roads for them.
“The power has been cut off to several administrative units, including the administrative units of Chochkhati, Ghrmageli and Atsana.
“We have already evacuated a certain part of the population – some are in hotels and some at relatives.
“Based on the current information, about 40 houses have collapsed, and although residential buildings have been damaged, we have no information about injuries yet,” Sarishvili noted.
Yet Guria News reported that the heavy snowfall has resulted in casualties in the Ozurgeti municipality. The publication reports that a man in the village of Konchkati died while helping a neighbor clear snow from their roof.
Volunteers are self-organizing to form groups that will provide physical assistance to citizens stranded in blocked villages in Guria. They are also working to mobilize equipment, raise funds for various needs, and gather essential resources.
Locals accuse local municipalities of negligence because they did not take into account the meteorological conditions in the region in advance, did not purchase snowplows, did not take care to evacuate people from snow-covered villages, and did not provide them with gas, electricity, and food.
