Dynamics of the Development of Natural Gravitational Processes
(Landslides) In the Medium-Mountain Regions of Georgia: The Case
of Imereti (2010–2022)
Nana Bliadze., Magdana Kvabziridze
Department of Geography, Akaki Tsereteli State University, Kutaisi, Imereti, Georgia
Received: 15 November 2025; Accepted: 20 November 2025; Published: 09 December 2025
ABSTRACT
Georgia, along with one of its most densely populated regions, Imereti, is considered one of the most challenging
areas in terms of the scale of natural disasters, their temporal recurrence, and the damage they cause.
Out of a total of 544 settlements in 11 municipalities of the Imereti region, 73 are located in the high-risk zone
of landslide processes, 151 in the medium-risk zone, 152 in the low-risk zone, and 168 settlements belong to the
non-hazardous zone; In the study region, there was an extreme activation of landslides in those years when the
quantitative indicator of atmospheric precipitation significantly exceeded the multi-year average, especially in
the amount and frequency of precipitation.
It is necessary to conduct geomonitoring in all settlements of the study region in the future, regardless of the
hazard risk; it is desirable that in the near future (2-3 years) all settlements and the land plots and infrastructure
within their area be assessed, on the basis of which appropriate specialized maps should be created for individual
municipalities and communities according to hazard risk;
Keywords: landslides, gravitational processes, landslides and average long-term precipitation.
INTRODUCTION
Imereti is one of the most difficult medium-mountainous regions of Georgia in terms of the scale of development
of natural and catastrophic events, their recurrence over time, and the consequences they have on the population
and engineering and economic facilities.
The large-scale activation of natural processes in recent times and the increase in their recurrence intervals have
been caused by: a sharp deviation from the average multi-year norm in the increase and frequency of monthly,
daily and weekly precipitation caused by global climate change. The frequency of earthquakes in Georgia and
the extremely high pressure of human activity on the environment - unsystematic urbanization of the territory,
various types of engineering construction, which are often carried out with disregard for construction norms and
rules, intensive and even unsystematic exploitation of agricultural lands, deforestation, improperly conducted
mining operations, etc.
METHODOLOGY
Field-expeditionary, statistical, comparative analysis, cartographic, and other methods were used in the work.
Imereti is a medium-mountainous region, in which four geomorphological units are distinguished: 1. The hilly
foothills of the Guria-Imereti Range, 2. Upper Imereti Upland, 3. Guria-Imereti Range, 4. Colchis Lowland. The
geological structure of the region includes rocks from the Paleozoic to the Quaternary age, which are represented
by gneisses, diorites, granites, granitoids, tuff breccias, tuff sandstones, argilites, shales, sandstones, limestones,
marls, conglomerates, sands, clay-loams, and others (8). Among the dangerous geological processes in Imereti,
landslides dominate, which are manifested with greater or lesser activity in all municipalities of the Imereti
region.
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