KMA-Flood Control Office-Korea Water Resources Corporation Join Forces for Flood Response...Policy Council Formed

On the 11th, as heavy rain continued mainly in the central region, employees at the Hangang Flood Control Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are closely monitoring the Hangang River water level status. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] To respond to climate change such as prolonged floods and heavy rainfall, the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Flood Control Office, and the Korea Water Resources Corporation have formed a policy council to strengthen inter-agency collaboration.

On the 17th, Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae chaired the "Measures to Strengthen Collaboration Among Weather Forecast-Related Agencies" meeting at the Greenhouse Gas Comprehensive Information Center in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, attended by Kim Jong-seok, Administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration, Yoo Myung-soo, Director of the Hangang Flood Control Office, and Park Jae-hyun, President of the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

This meeting was organized to discuss ways to enhance climate crisis response capabilities by strengthening collaboration among weather forecast-related agencies amid increasing concerns over the difficulty of weather prediction due to climate change and the rise in natural disasters such as flood damage.

At the meeting, it was decided to promote ▲strengthening role-sharing among agencies ▲expanding personnel exchanges and communication between agencies ▲increasing sharing of meteorological observation data.

The Korea Meteorological Administration plans to expand the production and provision of basin-specific customized forecast data to strengthen flood response, while the Flood Control Office and the Korea Water Resources Corporation will actively utilize this data in flood warnings and advisories as well as decisions on dam discharge volumes and timing.

During the flood season from June to September, joint operations of weather and flood forecasting experts will be conducted, and the Korea Meteorological Administration will lead weather forecasting training for forecast-related personnel from the Flood Control Office and the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Flood Control Office will provide observation data from its 426 ground observation devices to the Korea Meteorological Administration, and when expanding meteorological radars for each agency, prior consultations will be strengthened to operate the observation network effectively.

The meeting also discussed enhancing the accuracy of weather forecasts by strengthening the monitoring and response infrastructure for hazardous weather such as heavy rainfall. Specific improvement measures will be developed through future consultations among related agencies.

As a follow-up to the meeting results, a policy council among agencies will be formed and operated to establish concrete implementation plans for collaboration measures.

The policy council will include the Director of Air Environment Policy and the Director of Water Resources Policy at the Ministry of Environment, the Director of the Hangang Flood Control Office, the Director of Forecasting and the Director of Climate Science at the Korea Meteorological Administration, and the Director of Water Resources Division at the Korea Water Resources Corporation. A working-level council at the manager level will be formed to support the policy council and establish a multi-layered, continuous collaboration system.

Minister Cho stated, "In the era of the climate crisis, adaptation to climate change has become as important as reducing greenhouse gases," adding, "We will do our best to protect the safety of the people by organically linking weather forecasting and flood management."

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