Naju-si Advances 'Permanent Improvement and Restoration Project' for 5 Rivers

Mayor Kang In-gyu is inspecting the restoration site of the Munpyeongcheon embankment, which was damaged by heavy rain last month.

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hanhyuk Lee] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 11th that it will actively promote permanent improvement and restoration projects for five rivers, including Munpyeongcheon, to prevent recurring flood damage caused by heavy rain.

The project sites are five local and small rivers: Munpyeongcheon, Manbongcheon, Singwangcheon, Hwadongcheon, and Jangsancheon.

The city will invest 69.3 billion KRW (80% national funds, 10% provincial funds, 10% city funds), secured through continuous requests for improvement and restoration to the Central Disaster Damage Joint Investigation Team, to carry out extensive river maintenance such as embankment reinforcement, new bridge construction, floodwall strengthening, and installation of new drainage pump stations.

Once the restoration project is completed, it is expected that 716 hectares of farmland near the rivers and about 900 residents will have less concern about flood damage.

Between the 7th and 9th of last month, heavy rainfall of up to 409.5 mm caused partial collapse of the embankments of Munpyeongcheon and Bonghwangcheon, tributaries of the Yeongsan River, resulting in backflow of river water and severe flooding damage to houses and farmland.

These rivers have repeatedly experienced summer disasters due to typhoons and heavy rain in the past, making it urgent to establish fundamental improvement measures.

In particular, the damage to river facilities this time is the largest scale since Typhoon "Megi" caused serious damage in 2004.

Earlier, the city estimated that property damage from last month's heavy rain reached 11 billion KRW at about 140 locations, excluding crop flooding damage caused by embankment collapse and river overflow, so the actual damage is expected to be greater.

Among these, damage to river facilities amounted to 5.4 billion KRW at 47 locations, accounting for 49% of the total damage.

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, "To fundamentally solve the problems of rivers that suffer repeated damage, we have actively explained the necessity of improvement and restoration to the Central Disaster Damage Joint Investigation Team and requested national funding support," adding, "Through permanent restoration, we will be able to protect the living environment of citizens more safely."

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