Three years after the Shovi tragedy, a landslide monitoring system will be installed in the village of Glola, located 4 km from the disaster zone.
It is reported that the monitoring system is scheduled for installation by November 15 of this year.
The National Environmental Agency plans to install landslide monitoring and early warning systems in the municipalities of Oni, Mestia, Akhmeta, and Kazbegi:
- The village of Glola (Oni 13 and Oni 14 — administrative/geographical designations for sections within the Oni municipality — Ed.) — no later than November 15, 2026;
- The village of Zhabeshi (Mestia 32 and Mestia 20 — also section designations — Ed.) — no later than November 15, 2026;
- The village of Stepantsminda (Kazbegi 6 and Kazbegi 9) — no later than November 15, 2027;
- The village of Dartlo (Akhmeta 1) — no later than November 15, 2027.
A total of 1,400,000 euros (approximately 4.2 million GEL) has been allocated for these measures.
“In recent years, the increasing dynamics of large-scale natural disasters confirm the need for early warning systems and continuous monitoring in high-risk zones,” the National Environmental Agency stated in a letter to the State Procurement Agency.
As a reminder, on August 3, 2023, at approximately 4:00 PM, a landslide occurred in Shovi, Racha region (a few kilometers from the village of Glola). The rescue operation began approximately three hours after the initial report was received.
On August 4, the Georgian Armed Forces were deployed to assist in the search and rescue operations.
The Shovi landslide resulted in 32 deaths; the body of one victim has never been found.