Prepared by Messenger Staff
Flooding Hits Telavi After River Overflows, No Casualties Reported
The Telaviskhevi river overflowed in Telavi during heavy rain early on July 12, flooding streets, businesses and residential areas. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
"The disaster is indeed of an unprecedented scale," Georgian Dream MP Irakli Kadagishvili told TV Pirveli, saying city infrastructure was badly damaged. Authorities set up a disaster response group and deployed around a hundred pieces of equipment. Electricity and gas outages have also been reported.
Georgian Dream Infrastructure Minister Revaz Sokhadze pledged to fix the damage quickly and plan preventive measures. A local told TV Pirveli she'd never seen anything like it, saying the river "carried torn trees, soil, and stones."
The flooding has raised questions about prevention. Critics cite a 2020 report in which CENN hydrologists warned Telavi was "living on a mine" over unresolved issues with debris-control dams built after a 1977 flood, plus riverbed narrowing and construction along the banks. Sokhadze rejected the criticism, saying the dams were renovated in 2022 and worked as intended, though he promised action on illegal construction near the river. Kadagishvili said a small bridge had obstructed the river's flow and called for the riverbed to be redesigned.
Police Official Resigns, Ordered to Wear Monitoring Bracelet Amid Abuse Allegations
Ioseb Sigua, recently promoted to head a division at the Interior Ministry's Central Criminal Police Department, has resigned and been fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet following domestic abuse allegations from his wife. His defense denies the claims, saying she's motivated by financial interest in shared property.
Sigua was promoted to lead the Organized Crime Combat Division just days after his wife, Sophia Sigua-Shatberava, publicly accused him of abuse in a July 4 TV Pirveli interview, alleging he beat her without leaving marks, threatened her with a gun, and made death threats. The outlet reported a restraining order was issued against him in February 2026 and that she later came under pressure to settle property matters in exchange for dropping complaints, a deal she says he abandoned.
Sigua's promotion, announced July 9, drew criticism from Sapari director Baia Pataraia, who represents his wife and called it a "tragedy." She said police delayed responding to his wife's emergency calls and took hours to fit him with the bracelet, which happened early July 11. A court upheld the measure that day, and the Interior Ministry confirmed his resignation.
Sigua's lawyer says his wife is after money and property. Her lawyer rejects that argument, saying the abuse spanned 13 years and that questioning her property claims wrongly suggests an abuse victim shouldn't be entitled to any.
