Ministry of Environment Holds Emergency Meeting on Typhoon 'Haishen' Response... "4.3 Billion Tons of Flood Control Capacity Secured"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] On the 6th, the Ministry of Environment held an emergency inspection meeting via video at the Hangang Flood Control Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, in preparation for the northward approach of Typhoon No. 10 'Haishen'.

The meeting was attended by related agencies including the Flood Control Office under the Ministry of Environment, Korea Water Resources Corporation, the Korea Meteorological Administration, and regional environmental offices, to check the typhoon situation and review response measures.

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae said, "With accumulated damage from successive typhoons approaching, the stronger 'Haishen' is coming, raising concerns about significant damage."

The Ministry of Environment is responding to Typhoon Haishen as follows. First, by pre-releasing water from 20 multipurpose dams nationwide, it has secured a flood control capacity of 4.3 billion tons that can hold rainwater without releasing downstream even with about 270mm of rainfall.

In cases where it is unavoidable to increase discharge due to concentrated rainfall from the typhoon, the Ministry plans to communicate with downstream local governments and take preemptive measures to prevent damage.

Additionally, to prevent casualties, all national park trails and campgrounds nationwide will be completely closed. From noon on the 6th, all 607 trails in 21 parks will be fully closed, and use of 38 campgrounds will be suspended.

To prevent facility damage, safety inspections of disaster-vulnerable areas within national parks were conducted over two days starting from the 4th.

For the prevention of African Swine Fever spread, pre-inspections of installed barrier fences and emergency repairs in case of damage are being promoted. Repairs have been completed on 20.4 km, which is 99.5% of the 20.5 km of fences damaged by heavy rains during the last monsoon season, and if fences are damaged by the typhoon, repairs will be carried out immediately once worker safety is ensured.

The Ministry of Environment will operate a 'Flood Countermeasure Situation Room' until the typhoon completely passes Korea, checking each agency’s typhoon preparedness and maintaining a cooperative system with related ministries and local governments.

Damage status in environmental facilities such as water supply and sewage will be immediately identified, and a recovery support team will be operated to promptly restore damaged facilities after the typhoon situation ends.

Minister Cho said, "We will do our best to protect the lives and property of the people through thorough preparation until the typhoon’s impact completely disappears."

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