Adjarian Villages Face Unremitting Natural Disasters

Living in Landslide Zone in Adjaria Region

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi

Approximately 400 families in Adjara Autonomous Republic are facing constant threat of landslides. People are demanding that responsible governmental bodies immediately help them. Already this year 5 people have died as a direct result of landslides.

As a consequence of the September 19th natural disaster, tens of villages in Khelvachauri and Kobuleti Districts have been flooded. In the village of Kapreshumi 6 families are facing the pending threat of being buried by the ever-creeping soil. Their houses have about 50 cm wide cracks in the walls as a result of the unstable land.  One wall of Khundadze family is completely covered by soil from outside. Those who were seriously damaged by a landslide have taken their valuable things from their houses and found shelter in the home of a neighbor, which is far from the epicenter of the landslide.

The inhabitants of the village of Todogauri are now asking for help. Four families continue living on the territory where it has been determined that landslide risk is extremely high.  This years harvest and roads are destroyed in this village. The upper part of the village cannot be reached with the help of a vehicle.
The inhabitants of Tsinsvla village are not even able to reach the main road. We contacted the inhabitants of this village and they say that the transport cannot go to their village and therefore they are unable to leave the village.

Jemal Shantadze died in a landslide in the village of Akhalsopeli. His neighbors recall that a natural disaster became dangerous for the Shantadze family even as early as last year: “Soil slipped down and threatened their house in 2007. However, the government did not pay any attention to their problem. They did not provide any kind of assistance. If rehabilitation activities had been conducted we might not have faced this tragedy.” The body of deceased Jemal Shantadze now rests waiting buried in a neighbor’s house. Other family members have received various injuries and are now being treated in a hospital.

Four members of Chavleishvili family died from a landslide on September 19th. Only two survived from the family: Magda Chavleishvili, 17 and her grandfather. They are now being treated in Batumi Hospital #1.
“The only thing I cam remember is that a wall crashed and soil came pouring into the house. I was trapped in the onslaught of soil. All family members were at home,” recalled Magda. She did not know at that time that her parents and brother and sister were already dead.