2023 Shovi landslide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 A cottage in Shovi in 2021 | |
 | |
| Date | August 3, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time | 16:00 local time |
| Location | Shovi, Oni Municipality, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 42°42′16″N 43°40′55″E / 42.704500°N 43.681806°E |
| Cause | Glacial mudflow |
| Deaths | 32 deaths, 1 missing |
On 3 August 2023 at approximately 16:00 local time, a landslide occurred in the mountain resort of Shovi in Georgia's Oni Municipality, at the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains. It resulted in at least 32 deaths and destroyed much of the resort's infrastructure.
The disaster occurred during a summer season when the popular resort of Shovi in Georgia's northwestern highland province of Racha is frequented by tourists. According to a preliminary report by Georgia's National Environmental Agency released six days after the incident, satellite data showed a 500,000 cubic meter rock mass collapse near the Buba glacier in the Bubistsqali river gorge. This resulted in a 62-hectare glacial fragmentation and the release of subglacial waters. Data from the area's meteorological station and radar did not record intense rainfall during that time.[1]
On 1 August 2024, the Institute of Earth Sciences and the National Seismic Monitoring Center of Ilia State University released their new findings, according to which the landslide occurred on the steep slope southeast of the Tbilisa glacier (3850 meters above sea level), bringing about the collision of about one million m3 of material with the glacier. The report concluded that had an early warning system been in place, an alarm could have been sounded approximately 2 hours before the disaster, providing more time to evacuate the area.[2]