TBILISI, September 30 – Two villages in western Georgia’s Kharagauli municipality have been abandoned after a massive landslide worsened, swallowing farmland and edging toward rivers and roads.
Residents of Khvemaghali and Ghverki have already left their homes as cracks widened across hillsides in recent weeks. Locals say the disaster struck quickly. Some point to tectonic shifts as the cause, while others blame blasting carried out for a new railway line.
A new geological survey, commissioned by the Kharagauli mayor’s office and conducted by the private firm Geologic, concludes that natural factors were the main driver. The report says the slope had been in a fragile state for years and was always prone to collapse.
According to specialists, the active landslide covers about 68 hectares. The mass of earth involved is enormous, nearly 30 million cubic meters, with an average depth of 43 meters. The vertical difference from the top to the bottom of the slide is 170 meters, giving the slope what the report calls “high energetic potential” for further movement.
The landslide is pushing soil into the bed of the Karneba River. In one section, the river is already dammed by five meters, creating a dangerous buildup of water. Experts warn the valley could eventually be blocked up to 80 meters high, raising the risk of destructive floods and debris flows.
Geologists classify the event as both “very deep” and “extremely large.” They say stabilization is unlikely in the short term. The railway works, while controversial among locals, were judged not to be the decisive factor in the slide.
The study warns that infrastructure in the valleys of the Karneba and Chkerimela rivers is at risk, including homes, roads and bridges. It concludes that even entering the zone is hazardous and using the area for housing is “categorically unacceptable.”
