Traffic in Dariali gorge, close to the Kazbegi-Zemo Larsi border-crossing point with Russia in the northern mountainous part of Georgia, has been closed due to fears of mudslides, the Georgian authorities said on Thursday.
“Employees have been evacuated from the Kazbegi border-crossing point,” the Georgian PM’s office said. “The Russian Federation’s customs service has been notified about the situation.”
It said that the move was promoted by “intensification of natural hazard processes” in the Amali-Devdoraki gorge. It also said that the monitoring team from the National Environmental Agency on the ground reported about mudslides in the Amali-Devdoraki gorge, followed by a decision to close traffic in the Dariali gorge.
The section of the road, running in the Dariali gorge, was hit by major landslides twice in 2014, killing several people, damaging the road, Kazbegi border-crossing infrastructure, and the pipeline carrying Russian gas to Armenia via Georgia.
In both of those cases landslides and mudflows originated from Devdoraki glacier on the northeastern slope of Mkinvartsveri (Mount Kazbek), bringing a huge amount of mud and debris through a valley eastward towards the Dariali gorge where the river Tergi flows northward towards Russia. Road leading to the Kazbegi-Larsi border crossing point with Russia runs along the river Tergi.
The road is also important for Armenia as it is currently the only available link with Russia for the country via land.
