Landslide hits Matchavariani street and nearby slopes in Tbilisi

A landslide has fallen on Machavariani Street and nearby slopes in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi.

According to Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi Irakli Bendeliani, the landslide is being monitored and German geoengineers will also help to solve the problem next week.

Bendeliani said that following recommendations from experts Matchavariani Street has already been closed and specialists are already trying to identify the cause of the landslide which will be announced 'in the coming days.’ 

However, he shared his own doubts about the causes of the landslide, indicating 'the actions taken on Machavariani Street and the surrounding slopes in recent years', which intensified landslide processes. 

Bendeliani meant the construction of a new road connecting Marshal Gelovani Avenue to Mukhran Machavariani street (Lisi Road), which launched in 2018. In addition, the construction of several residential buildings are also taking place nearby the territory which have been damaged by the landslide.

Geologists said that construction on this slope should not be overloaded, as construction creates a danger of earth movement. They say that if rains continue the slope may slide off completely.

Head of the Department of Geography of the Institute of Earth and Science and National Seismic Monitoring Centre Lasha Sukhishvili told the local media outlet On.ge that the landslide might have taken place as early as several weeks ago. 

This landslide did not occur yesterday, because we saw traces on the ground, groups have worked there, markers are framed that seem to count the speed of movement of the landslide. What we saw in the photos of the social network, we can suppose that about half a million cubic meters of land has fallen. It is unimaginable to stop the landslide - it will slide off completely or will be brought down artificially", he said.

Seismologist Tea Godoladze told TV Formula that the danger is the same as it was in Tbilisi's Vake-Saburtalo district on June 13, 205.

"In this case the landslide process is in dynamics and the reinforcement works no longer make sense. Absolutely everything has to stop in this area," Agenda.ge cited her as saying.