Authorities in Telavi are assessing damage and working to limit the impact after the Telaviskhevi river overflowed during heavy rain in the early hours of July 12, flooding streets and residential areas in Kakheti's regional capital. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
Videos and images from the city show muddy water flowing beyond the riverbanks, reaching businesses and the basements and ground floors of apartment blocks. Locals described loud roars as the current carried trees, soil, and stones through neighborhoods.
Response on the ground
Officials convened a disaster response group to coordinate cleanup and damage surveys. Local authorities reported electricity and natural gas outages in affected areas. The government said roughly a hundred pieces of equipment have been deployed for flood cleanup and recovery work.
Infrastructure Minister Revaz Sokhadze pledged that authorities would work to clear the damage as quickly as possible while planning preventive measures to reduce future flood risk. Ruling Georgian Dream lawmaker Irakli Kadagishvili, who visited the scene, told TV Pirveli that the impact was serious and that city infrastructure had been heavily affected.
Prevention debate
The flooding has renewed debate over river management in Telavi. Critics have cited a 2020 report in which hydrologists from the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network warned that debris-control dams built after a 1977 flood needed attention, and raised concerns about riverbed narrowing and construction along the watercourse.
Sokhadze said natural disasters occur in every country and argued the dams were renovated in 2022 and had functioned during the event. Kadagishvili suggested a small bridge over the Telaviskhevi may have obstructed flow and said the riverbed may need redesign. Officials said they would review any illegal or risky construction near the river.
