June 15 Declared as Day of Mourning

At least 12 people died and 24 remain missing, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the severe flooding which hit Tbilisi on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. He said: "not a single family affected by the flood will be left without attention.”

"Unfortunately, the natural disaster has left several people dead. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to their families. This is a big tragedy and I would like the 15th of June to be declared a day of mourning, in order to pay tribute to those who perished in the flood that struck the city," Garibashvili said.

As of Sunday afternoon, 36 people had been taken to Tbilisi hospitals and many more were facing homelessness after the torrential downpour. Tbilisi residents and people from nearby cities have started bringing food, warm clothes and other vital items to municipal centers to help families. People are turning out in large numbers to volunteer for relief efforts and to clear affected streets from dirt and mud left after the flooding.

The PM said that people are showing “unprecedented solidarity” and thanked them for that. Indeed, he requested no further volunteers to take part as the number of state agencies’ employees, plus already committed volunteers amounted to a sufficient workforce for the immediate recovery.

“The government will ask for more people’s involvement if need be,” the PM said.