Why Did Kim Mi-kyung, Eunpyeong District Mayor, Hold an Interview on Disaster Management Evaluation?

Eunpyeong-gu Establishes Everyday Safety System for Disaster Prevention...Supports Standalone Alarm Detectors, Cheonggaeguri Weather Forecast System, Resident Safety Insurance, and Other Pre-Disaster Prevention Systems

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) announced that on the 5th, it held an interview with the head of the institution regarding the ‘2020 Local Government Disaster Management Evaluation’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The interview was conducted as part of one of the 34 indicators across five fields of the disaster management evaluation index, with the Seoul on-site evaluation team composed of external experts, including university professors, visiting and conducting the interview.

This interview covered △ the vision and promotion plan as the overall disaster management leader △ the greatest risk factors in disaster management and improvement measures △ personnel and organizational reinforcement to strengthen the capacity of the disaster safety department △ incentives for disaster management department employees △ the scale of the budget in the disaster safety field, serving as an opportunity to listen to the mayor’s strong will to promote disaster management and comprehensive opinions.

Eunpyeong-gu is connecting safety activity groups such as safety security officers, safety monitor volunteer groups, and autonomous disaster prevention teams into one network to promote activation, and is striving to establish a safety system in daily life created together with residents by having residents and experts participate in inspections of disaster-vulnerable facilities such as rivers, landslide-prone areas, and new construction sites.

Additionally, to create a safe city in Eunpyeong-gu, fire extinguishers and standalone alarm-type detectors are provided to the disabled, elderly living alone, and basic livelihood security recipients. An online disaster safety map is operated to allow a comprehensive view of safety facility information such as heatwave shelters, firefighting water facilities, and CCTV, and safety infrastructure is being expanded by marking earthquake safety on public buildings.

Furthermore, due to its geographical characteristics surrounded by Bukhansan Mountain and the prevalence of semi-basement houses, which are vulnerable to flooding during heavy rains, the ‘Cheonggaeguri Weather Forecast System’ is being operated.

This is a disaster early warning system installed in the valleys and rivers of Bukhansan that collects real-time meteorological information such as rainfall, wind direction, and wind speed, which is transmitted to the district’s Smart City Integrated Control Center for analysis, enabling preemptive measures to minimize damage caused by disasters.

To support the livelihood stability of residents affected by natural disasters, explosions, fires, collapses, school zone traffic accidents, and other incidents, the Seoul Metropolitan City Eunpyeong-gu Resident Safety Insurance and Mutual Aid Operation Ordinance was enacted last year, and insurance was subscribed.

Therefore, all residents registered in Eunpyeong-gu are automatically enrolled as insured persons, and regardless of age, gender, occupation, or medical history, they are covered for damages incurred during the one-year period from August 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020.

In addition, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, comprehensive surveys of multi-use facilities and lodging businesses are conducted, and disinfection is carried out targeting public facilities and vulnerable groups. Screening clinics and telephone counseling centers are operated, and a cooperative system with local hospitals is established to proactively respond to early containment of infections in the community.

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung expressed her determination, saying, “We will do our utmost to thoroughly prepare in advance for disaster prevention and respond swiftly when disasters occur to protect the precious lives and property of our residents from various disasters and risks.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.