Earthquake safety of buildings in Tbilisi: what to know

What does "earthquake-safe" mean for a building in Tbilisi?

A building is designed to be earthquake-safe when its structure is calculated to resist the shaking the law expects at its site, so that it does not collapse even if it is damaged. In Georgia that expectation is set by the seismic building code PN 01.01-09, adopted by a ministerial order in October 2009 and in force since 1 January 2010. Its annex puts Tbilisi at intensity 8 on the MSK-64 scale, with a design coefficient of 0.17 for medium soil.

The "8 points" often quoted by developers is an intensity: a measure of how strongly the ground shakes at a given place. It is not the magnitude of an earthquake, which measures the energy released at its source. A building "designed for 8 points" is not a building that will survive a magnitude 8 earthquake; it is designed for the level of shaking the code expects in Tbilisi.

How strong can earthquakes in Tbilisi be?

The whole of Georgia lies in a seismically active zone, as the code itself states. Researchers have identified active faults close to and beneath Tbilisi; a 2013 study by Georgian and French geologists reported a blind thrust fault under the city whose segments could generate earthquakes of about magnitude 6.5. Historically, strong shaking inside the city was rare: for centuries the main epicentres lay 20 to 100 km away, until the 2002 earthquake struck within the city itself.

The official hazard map is under debate. A 2021 peer-reviewed review by a Tbilisi State University seismologist found that the 2009 map shows lower hazard than newer international models and said it "requires urgent recalculation". Work on new hazard maps with the Ministry of Economy has been reported since 2020, but as of October 2026 the 2009 code remains the legal basis. The World Bank's ThinkHazard tool rates Tbilisi's earthquake hazard as medium, with a 10% chance of potentially damaging shaking in the next 50 years.

What happened in the 2002 earthquake?

On the night of 25 April 2002 an earthquake of about magnitude 4.5, with its epicentre inside the city and a shallow focus, shook much of Didube, Nadzaladevi, Chughureti, Mtatsminda and Krtsanisi. Agencies give magnitudes from 4.3 to 4.8, and sources give between 5 and 7 deaths. A 2004 paper by the Georgian Institute of Structural Mechanics and Earthquake Engineering, presented at the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, summarised the official inspection.

Losses exceeded USD 180 million, and the authors estimated that about 18,000 households, some 69,000 people, were left without a safe home. Grade 3 damage was most common in the Gldani-Nadzaladevi area (1,936 buildings) and least common in Vake-Saburtalo (112). The authors concluded that "the city is not ready for the next earthquake".

Which buildings are most at risk?

In 2002 the worst damage was to old one- to three-storey brick and stone houses, many built without anti-seismic measures and already weakened by foundations sinking where water and sewage pipes leaked. Multi-storey brick, large-block, panel and reinforced concrete buildings of 5 to 16 storeys mostly had light damage. Some concrete frame buildings were badly damaged because of poor materials and design errors, and buildings with self-built steel loggias were singled out as high-risk. The authors noted that the 2002 shaking was very short, "like an explosion"; a distant earthquake with slower, longer waves could be more dangerous for taller buildings.

Age matters. According to the same paper, Tbilisi's design level was intensity 7 until 1991 and was raised to 8 only after the Spitak (1988) and Racha (1991) earthquakes, so most Soviet-era blocks were designed for a lower level than today's code. Modelling for the Asian Development Bank in 2022 gave Tbilisi the highest average annual earthquake loss of any region in Georgia, driven by unreinforced masonry and older reinforced concrete built before modern codes.

Condition matters too. In July 2025 Tbilisi City Hall said the city has more than 10,000 unsafe buildings, a figure unchanged since 2021, rated in categories I to V by the Levan Samkharauli National Bureau of Forensic Expertise or another certified body. Category III means structural damage requiring attention; categories IV and V cannot be reinforced. These ratings describe wear, settlement and water damage, not a forecast of which buildings would fall in an earthquake, and they are not published by district. For more on old stock, see our comparison of Soviet and new buildings.

How is a new building checked?

There is no separate state "seismic approval". Seismic safety is checked inside the permit process set by Government Decrees 255 and 256 of 2019. The explanatory note to the structural design must address the seismicity of the site, and an expert conclusion on the structural design and on the engineering-geological survey is mandatory for buildings of classes II to IV; a negative conclusion means no permit. The experts are accredited private bodies or certified individuals, with 10 years' experience required for the largest class IV buildings, and class III and IV sites need a qualified technical supervisor who signs stage minutes as the frame rises.

Two points are often misunderstood. First, Georgia has not adopted Eurocode 8, the European seismic standard: the government has admitted Eurocodes 4, 5, 6 and 7 for use since 2023, and a national Eurocodes committee was set up in September 2025, but the seismic part is not among them. Second, Soviet construction norms in force before 1992 are still temporarily recognised where Georgia has no equivalent. A construction company chief executive told AmCham's Investor.ge in 2024 that "only a few companies in the country work in accordance with the Eurocodes". A 2020 legal study also warned that fast-track and purely formal document review were weak points of the permit system.

We found no independent expert statement on the seismic safety of the towers of 30 storeys and more now planned or rising in Tbilisi. For any tall building, ask which code and which site study the structure was designed to.

Common misunderstandings

• "Designed for 8 points" means it survives a magnitude 8 quake. No: 8 is the expected shaking intensity in Tbilisi, not a magnitude.
• "New buildings are built to European standards." Not necessarily: Eurocode 8 is not adopted, and the Georgian 2009 code remains the legal basis.
• "Soviet blocks are the main danger." In 2002 old low-rise brick and stone houses suffered most; Soviet panel and block buildings mostly had light damage, though they were designed for a lower level.
• "10,000 unsafe buildings would collapse in an earthquake." The count rates condition, not earthquake resistance.
• "My home insurance covers earthquakes." Often only partly, as the next section shows.

Does home insurance cover earthquakes?

There is no state earthquake insurance pool in Georgia, and property insurance is not compulsory, although banks require it on mortgaged flats. The 2022 ADB study estimated that only about 5% of homes in Tbilisi are insured. Under the Civil Code, an insurer pays for force majeure only if the policy names it, so check the wording.

An example with numbers

Suppose your flat is mortgaged and insured under a bank collateral policy for GEL 300,000. At a tariff of 0.075% a year the premium is about GEL 225. If an earthquake damages the flat, the policy's deductible is 5% of the sum insured, so you bear the first GEL 15,000 of the damage yourself, by our arithmetic. For a flat insured at GEL 80,000, 5% would be GEL 4,000, so the GEL 5,000 minimum applies. The bank is the beneficiary of such a policy, and it does not cover your furniture or finishing; for those you need a separate home policy.

Why do slopes and walls matter?

Soil changes how much a building shakes. Tbilisi's ground ranges from rock to clays, sands and old fill, and in one 2002 case the calculated shaking on soft soil was more than twice that recorded on rock nearby. Hillside plots add the risk of retaining walls: in March 2026 walls collapsed after heavy rain on Guramishvili Avenue and in Lotkini, a wall of a residential building fell on Sanerge Street in August, and in July ground collapsed by a stalled construction pit on Marijani Street near Vazha-Pshavela metro. For a sloping site, ask for the engineering-geological report and find out who maintains the retaining walls. Our Nadzaladevi guide covers the 2026 wall failures.

How to check a building step by step

1. Get the registry extract

   GEL 13 online from the Public Registry.

2. Ask for the permit and class

   And the commissioning act if finished.

3. See the expert conclusions

   Structural and geotechnical, for class II-IV.

4. Check the supervision record

   Stage minutes for frame and slabs.

5. For old buildings, ask the category

   Any I-V rating from a certified body.

6. Get an insurance quote

   A refusal is a warning sign.

A Public Registry extract shows owners, rights and mortgages, but not the building's seismic class or design code; for that you need the permit file and the expert conclusions, which the developer should be able to show. We found no published price for a private structural survey, so ask several accredited bodies for a quote. Never buy a flat where a previous owner has cut through load-bearing walls: such work needs a permit, and in Batumi in 2021 removed walls led to a building collapse that killed nine people.

Frequently asked questions

What seismic level is Tbilisi designed for?

Intensity 8 on the MSK-64 scale, under the 2009 code PN 01.01-09.

Is "8 points" the same as magnitude 8?

No. It is the expected shaking at a site, not the energy of an earthquake.

Has Georgia adopted Eurocode 8?

Not as of October 2026; other Eurocodes have been admitted for use.

When was the last damaging earthquake in Tbilisi?

On 25 April 2002, about magnitude 4.5, with between 5 and 7 deaths.

Are Soviet blocks dangerous?

They were designed for a lower level than today, but in 2002 they mostly had light damage; condition matters most.

How many unsafe buildings are there in Tbilisi?

More than 10,000, according to City Hall in July 2025.

Does insurance cover earthquakes?

Many policies do, but some exclude the structure, old buildings or small quakes.

Who checks a new building's structure?

Accredited experts give a mandatory conclusion for classes II to IV before a permit is issued.

Sources

1. Construction norms "Seismic-resistant construction" PN 01.01-09, Order No 1-1/2284 of the Minister of Economic Development, October 2009, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 22 October 2026)
2. Government Decree No 255 and Decree No 256 of 31 May 2019 on construction permits and expert assessment, and Resolution No 52 of 2014 on recognised norms (accessed 22 October 2026)
3. Resolution No 412 of 2023 and Resolution No 236 of 2025 admitting Eurocodes for use, Government of Georgia
4. The 25 April 2002 Tbilisi earthquake, Gabrichidze et al., 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 2004
5. Review of seismic hazard maps of Georgia, O. Varazanashvili, Journal of the Georgian Geophysical Society, 2021
6. Earthquake fault plane solution and active tectonics of Tbilisi, Adamia et al., Geological Society of America, 2013
7. Earthquake hazard, Tbilisi, ThinkHazard, World Bank GFDRR, and Georgia disaster risk profile, Asian Development Bank and CAREC, March 2022
8. Tbilisi officially struggles with 10,000 unsafe buildings, Georgia Today, 15 July 2025
9. Better standards for safer buildings, Investor.ge, 11 April 2024, and study of construction permit procedure, TSU Journal of Law, 2020
10. GPI "Comfort" wording, Irao information sheet, Unison information sheet, Aldagi home insurance and GPI collateral policy via ProCredit Bank (accessed 20 October 2026)
11. Retaining walls collapse after heavy rain, Front News, 1 March 2026, and Ground collapses near a residential building by Vazha-Pshavela metro, Sova News, 6 July 2026
12. Registration fees and terms, National Agency of Public Registry (accessed 20 October 2026)

Change log

• 22 October 2026 - Explainer published from the seismic code PN 01.01-09, Government Decrees 255 and 256 of 2019, Eurocode resolutions, the 2004 World Conference on Earthquake Engineering paper on the 2002 earthquake, Georgian Geophysical Society and GSA research, ThinkHazard, the ADB country risk profile, Tbilisi City Hall data via Georgia Today and insurers' policy documents.