The President of Georgia held a special meeting and ordered the Mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava and the Minister of Finance Dimitri Gvindadze to help the population of Tbilisi and eastern Georgia affected by the natural disaster. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, the population in the harshest conditions has to be assisted financially as well. As the Mayor of the Capital noted, the assistance of the victims of disaster has already begun with shelter and first aid and the process will end by the end of the day.

“The rescue services worked very well. If not for the work of these services and that of the Ministry, many more people would have lost their lives. They arrived at the scene just in time and brought people down from roofs. The most important thing is that we began moving these people to safety. I understand well that your people did not sleep during nights but the next thing we must think about, and we have already talked about this, is freeing Tbilisi from barracks. Jobs are being created in the regions and people should not be coming to Tbilisi anymore for work, but people who arrived 7-10 years ago were living in such places. We have to set firm standards so nobody tries to settle behind garages anymore to find shelter, and then end up becoming a victim of a natural disaster. I couldn’t imagine that people lived in such conditions because it is impossible to see unless one looks for it. The natural disaster took everything away from people in Dusheti, Lagodekhi, and Gurjaani and it is exceedingly important that we give them minimal aid, because perhaps the flood took away their last cow or a chicken. This is why we should not just create a commission, but we should act – the state should reimburse the most affected people and the people of lowest means, at least minimally. I want to do a lot more for these people, but our resources are limited. This is why we must count the costs and help them in the next few days. This is why the government fund exists” – stated the President of Georgia.

As Gigi Ugulava noted, the city budget has a specific reserve, however some assistance will be needed from the central government in order to restore the loss. In his turn, the Minister of Finance promised him help in this affair: “This is the reason we have a government fund and we will use it for this”.

Mikheil Saakashvili especially emphasized the coordinated work of the Tbilisi City Hall and the Ministry of Internal Affairs while focusing on the devotion of the rescuers in order to help people and save their lives.

“I want to thank the rescue services, which are always responding promptly to emergency situations. The fact that all of the services were working in coordination means that we have a well organized state – the Mayor’s office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, local municipalities, Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance.  I am grateful that we able to avoid more victims by having such services in Georgia. I want us to thank these people, to distinguish them, and value their merit” – noted the President of Georgia.