Saakashvili ‘Cuts Short Baku Visit over Flooding’ in Western Georgia

President Saakashvili has cut short his visit to Azerbaijani capital, Baku, where he was due to participate in Crans Montana Forum, because of a flooding in western Georgian region of Samegrelo, the Georgian President’s administration said in a statement on Friday.

Heavy rain caused flooding in districts of Samegrelo region last night with Tsalenjikha and Chkhorotsku districts most affected, according to local officials, where houses have been flooded, farmland and several bridges washed away; landslide at several locations has damaged heavily local roads. No deaths were reported from the flooding.

President Saakashvili became a target of criticism in May when shortly after a deadly flood in Tbilisi he left for Bratislava to attend UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-final between Georgia and the Netherlands and then stopped in Milan, where he was photographed in high-end shops.