Western Georgia has been brought to a standstill by unprecedented snowfall, blanketing subtropical regions unaccustomed to such extreme weather. In remote villages—home mostly to elderly and low-income residents—the situation quickly turned critical, with roofs collapsing and people left without aid.
As authorities hesitated, volunteers mobilized rescue efforts, drawing parallels to recent protest movements. The slow government response sparked comparisons to past crises, with critics recalling how officials handled emergencies during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency.
A week-long snowstorm has paralyzed Western Georgia, burying regions where snowfall is a rare phenomenon—the subtropical areas of Adjara and Guria.
The crisis escalated quickly, not only due to the sheer volume of snow but also because locals lacked experience in dealing with such extreme weather.
Within days, the consequences turned dire: roofs collapsed under heavy snowdrifts, and people trapped in their homes perished after failing to receive timely aid.
Guria, one of Georgia’s poorest regions, was hit particularly hard. Many residents live in fragile, substandard housing, struggling even under normal conditions. In remote villages, where elderly people make up the majority—as younger generations have moved to cities or abroad—the snow left many completely isolated.
The heavy snowfall also endangered animals, with volunteers rescuing freezing stray dogs from the harsh conditions.
As the government response lagged, volunteers were the first to act, coordinating rescue efforts via social media. They compiled databases of those in urgent need, delivered food, medicine, and supplies, and even dug homes out of the snow, stepping in where authorities failed.
Those willing to help people trapped in the snowstorm’s epicenter can donate to Nanuka’s Fund at the following accounts:
Bank of Georgia: GE43BG0000000345851499 (Recipient: Nanuka’s Fund)
Despite the severe crisis, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and other officials from Georgian Dream only arrived on the fourth day, immediately criticizing volunteer efforts.
“It is extremely counterproductive when so-called volunteer initiatives emerge without coordination with the emergency headquarters. Today alone, we had several cases where heavy machinery had to be deployed to rescue the volunteers themselves.
We urge people not to interfere with our work and to refrain from spreading unverified information, which ultimately complicates the efforts of the relevant services helping citizens,” the government’s crisis coordination center stated.
But activists remain undeterred—they continue to organize on social media, collect donations, and efficiently distribute resources to reach those in need before it’s too late.
The grassroots response has drawn parallels to the ongoing protest movement in Tbilisi, which has persisted for four months despite harsh crackdowns and heavy fines. Some volunteers even received protest-related fines via SMS while digging people out of the snow—a detail ironically shared on social media by Bidzina Gujabidze, a well-known mountaineer and one of Georgia’s top rescue specialists.
Observers have compared the government’s sluggish response to how former president Mikheil Saakashvili handled natural disasters. Many recall that Saakashvili was known for quickly arriving at crisis zones, a stark contrast to Georgian Dream’s delayed reaction.
The opposition has condemned the government’s actions as criminal negligence. Anna Natsvlishvili, leader of the Leloparty, noted that the official crisis headquarters was only formed after volunteers had already begun rescue operations in Guria.
