Georgian villagers tell about consequences of flooding

Because of the flooding, some villagers of the Gurdjaani and Lagodekhi Districts of Georgia have lost their crops. Local authorities indicate the need to restore protective facilities on the Alazani and Inaboti Rivers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that intensive precipitation caused damage to almost all the villages of the Lagodekhi District of Georgia. Villagers' houses were flooded after the sewing canals failed to cope with implications of heavy rains; a part of the population lost their power and water supplies.

The Alazani and Inaboti Rivers have overflown the banks and flooded perennial orchards and vineyards in the territory of over a thousand hectares, the "Georgia Online" reported on May 6.

The affected residents of the villages of Chabukiani, Dzirkoki and Chandari told that their crops were not insured. "I submitted the due documents to the insurance company more than a week ago, but I was told that they could not insure the crop until May 15," the "Georgia Online" quotes Giya Shekeladze, a local resident, as saying.

Serious consequences of the flooding could have been avoided if there had been protective facilities on the Alazani and Inaboti Rivers, says Archil Khandamashvili, the head of the Gurdjaani District. "There had been capital protective barriers there, but in the 1990s they were dug out and sold. Now, the population is in such a difficult situation. It is necessary to build two-kilometre-long protective barriers," the "Sputnik Georgia" quotes Mr Khandamashvili as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 7, 2019 at 06:14 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.