Georgian Authorities Face Scrutiny Over Disaster Response

Gvantsa Seturidze

Georgian journalist based in Tbilisi

Tuesday, 5 September, 2023

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On July 29, 2020, Marita Gutashvili issued a public call for action after her hometown of Shovi, a mountain resort in Georgia’s north-western region of Racha, was inundated by floodwater from the Bumbura river.

Following severe damage to roads and houses, she warned in a social media post that the situation was critical.

Almost exactly three years later, on August 3, 2023, nine members of her family were among the 31 people killed in a deadly landslide in Shovi.

“The same thing happened in 2020,” Gutashvili told local media two days after the mudslide. “I warned you to check the mountain. I can’t see with these eyes. I’m not an expert, and I don’t have the equipment to check what kind of water is deep in the mountain.”  

The tragedy that engulfed Shovi shocked the country, angering many citizens and leaving hundreds of families grieving. Watchdog groups argued that authorities had ignored alerts over the area’s vulnerability and failed to develop adequate emergency response planning amid growing environmental challenges fueled by global warming.

A preliminary report published by Georgia’s National Environment Agency (NEA) on August 6 indicated that the disaster was caused by a glacial mudslide: a rocky mass collapsed on the western side of the Buba glacier, triggering an avalanche. This was caused by “natural, geological and hydrometeorological events,” including a rockslide at its top of the glacier, rain, erosive processes and glacial runoff.

Authorities said that it had been impossible to predict the disaster,  the worst since an earthquake hit the Racha region in 1991. In addition to residents’ warnings, however, environmental groups cited an NEA bulletin published from 2021 indicating the high risk of landslides in the area.

NO EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS  

Experts agree that, while predicting the extent of such natural events is challenging, monitoring processes and efficient early warning and response mechanisms can mitigate their impact.

Lasha Sukhishvili, the deputy director of the Institute of Earth Sciences at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, told IWPR that climate change had increased the risk of glacier-related natural disasters.

“There are a lot of small valleys across the country that have high local relief [the vertical distance between the top and the lower part of the valley] which means that if a natural disaster occurs, it reaches the population quickly,” he said. “Hence there is little response time, even in case of the proper monitoring and warning systems. But, when the country does not have such a system at all, it is really difficult to live safely in such natural conditions.”

In 2018, Levan Davitashvili, then minister of environmental protection and agriculture, promised to install early warning systems all across Georgia within three years. This did not happen, but speaking after the disaster, Davitashvili - now minister of economy - stated that even an early warning system could not have stopped the landslide.

Some experts argued that such a mechanism would have detected water accumulating from the melting of the glacier, reducing the impact and saving lives; others stated that stricter building regulations should have been in place in an area considered at risk. 

The image of Davit Jeladze, a young man photographed carrying his niece on his back, knee-deep in mud, soon became the symbol of the locals’ struggle to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the mudslide. The disaster proved that people did not understand basic evacuation protocol, as some ran down the hill instead of going up. 

“Some of them understood that they should go to higher ground, some of them did not,” Manana Kochladze, founding director of Green Alt, told IWPR. “When you are in such a stressful situation you may not react correctly, but when you have proper knowledge, it is easier to act [properly]. It is sometimes a matter of minutes and seconds, and these skills can be taught, but there must be someone who can teach me. This is why I am paying taxes to the state, to ensure my safety.” 

Sukhishvili agreed that evacuating a disaster site was not an easy task, and was even more complicated if those affected had to get themselves to safety.  In situations where every minute counts, it is unlikely that a centralised rescue system would work and professionals respond instantly. This meant that people needed to know how to respond to a message or warning signal and what route to take in order to save themselves. 

HISTORY REPEATED

Critics argue that more lives could have been saved if the authorities had learnt from previous disasters, in particular the deadly flood that hit the capital Tbilisi in 2015 when the overflow of the Vere River killed 21 people. According to the Spatial Development Plan of the Vere River valley, the area was supposed to become a recreational zone. Nonetheless, construction continues.

“After the floods in Tbilisi, the authorities should have understood the importance of environmental monitoring and management systems,” Kochladze said, adding that Georgia was vulnerable to natural disasters even without the effects of climate change. “Yet buildings continued to be built in the Vere valley, despite the existing development faults. There is no proper research conducted on the issue, at least not that we know of. We were told that a certain type of monitoring system was launched on the Vere River, but along with it, there are many other rivers in Tbilisi, which create similar problems from time to time.” 

Sukhishvili agreed, adding that discussions on further developments in the area could begin only after threats were fully identified.

“Tbilisi is naturally a complex place; in addition, the legal frames and building regulations are quite outdated. We are no longer talking about dealing with natural events, we need to deal with additional created problems,” the geologist said.

The delay in emergency response was also blamed for the death toll. It took three hours for Border Police helicopters, used to provide primary response in mountain operations, to arrive in Shovi. They could not operate at night or in the rain due to a lack of adequate navigating systems on board. 

The authorities hit back at the criticism, alleging that some were spreading false information and exploiting the tragedy. Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, also questioned some of the reports from people from Shovi, including Jeladze’s account to media, only to later apologise and praise the man’s courage.

The interior ministry has also announced an investigation to examine involuntary manslaughter and violation of safety regulations.