Storms rage in Georgia: hundreds of houses flooded, electricity supplies unstable

Several villages of Eastern Georgia have been flooded as a result of showers incessant for several days. Floods and rains caused electricity supply problems in the area: 122,000 residents are without power, while today the high-mountainous Onsk District in Western Georgia was cut off from the outer world by a landslide, which rushed down on the 11th kilometre of the Kutaisi-Altana-Mamisoni highway. As reported by the "Imedi" TV Company, the landslide was caused by heavy showers.

Let us remind you that because of multiple snowfalls and avalanches in the area of the Transcaucasian Highway, today, the electricity supply from Russia to South Ossetia was interrupted, and after one at night the republic was completely de-energized.

Because of strong downpours in Tserovani village, Eastern Georgia, about 200 houses, where refugees had been temporarily accommodated, have been flooded by the river spate. The flooding has destroyed crops and killed plenty of livestock and poultry. Damage was also caused to Ksovrisi village, Mtskheta District, where water overfilled the irrigation canal and flooded a dozen of dwelling houses.

The "News-Georgia" reports that damage was also caused to Titsnisi and Rekha villages, Gori District, and the centre of refugees' compact residence in Karaleti village. All the ground floors of the houses along the Medzhuda River are flooded; downpours also caused problems in the cities of Gori and Khashuri.

In Tbilisi, a strong thunder-storm and heavy showers, which continued the whole day on March 15 and all the following night, flooded the houses where refugees had been temporarily accommodated. As reported by the Tbilisi emergency service, the reason of the flooding was in the leaking roofs damaged by the hurricane wind back on March 4. Besides, the strong downpour in Tbilisi forced to introduce restrictions on potable water supplies in several city districts: Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi, Vake-Saburtalo and Gldani-Nadzaladevi.

Heavy snowfalls continue in the high-mountainous Svanetia for a week already, in Mestia village the height of snow layer has reached five meters. Roads are blocked: because of avalanche danger, they cannot be cleared yet. According to the department of roads and highways, all the traffic is banned in the Gudauri-Kobi section, as reported by the "Georgia Online" Agency.

The Kakheti Region has also suffered from strong rains. Spates have also damaged the Gurdzhaani and Lagodekhi Districts.