Tbilisi threatened by a massive landslide, experts say it is ‘unavoidable’
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, March 22
On March 17, several photos spread online showing a massive earth fissure emerging from the Vashlijvari slope near Lisi Lake. Experts say that it is connected to the activation of landslide processes.
As specialists state, the process might have started more than several weeks ago. “From what we say on the ground we can say that this landslide did not start yesterday. We saw traces on the ground that there have been groups working there. There are markers, which seem to be aimed to count the speed of the movement,” said an expert in the field, Lasha Sukhishvili.
The Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences at Ilia State University Tea Godoladze, who visited the site said that the observation shows that the cracks are about 10 meters deep, while the landmass amounts about half a million cubic meters. She said that it seems like the landslide is unavoidable and that it is probably a result of human intervention. She added that the City Hall has improperly planned the road construction, which might have triggered the processes.
On the other hand, the Mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze addressed the allegations noting that the works of the City Hall have nothing to do with the activation of the landslide. He also said that the causes are unknown as of now and added that a group of German geoengineers is expected to arrive in Tbilisi on March 22 to learn more about the processes.
Deputy Mayor Irakli Bendeliani also talked about the ongoing events at a special briefing. As he said, the study of the landslide processes and their activation is underway and should be concluded in the coming days.
He also noted that the team of the Tbilisi City Hall works very hard and conducts environmental assessments before the beginning of any construction processes in the city.
Potential consequences in case the mass falls are still unknown. Geologists believe that to find out, there is a need for extensive research and modeling. At the same time, the country is expecting German experts to learn more about the causes of the hazard.
