Forest Service Conducts Nationwide 'Emergency Safety Inspections and Urgent Measures' in Preparation for Heavy Rain

Choi Byung-am, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service (right), is monitoring landslide disaster prevention activities in preparation for the rainy season at the Central Forest Disaster Situation Room of the Korea Forest Service. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service announced on the 8th that it will conduct urgent safety inspections and emergency measures focusing on artificially developed mountainous areas nationwide until the 21st.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, about 600mm of rain fell in the southern region from the 1st to the 7th, and it is expected that some areas will experience rainfall exceeding 50mm per hour depending on the region.

Due to heavy rainfall in various regions, human casualties and property damage have occurred repeatedly in artificially developed mountainous areas such as houses and roads in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do.

Accordingly, the Korea Forest Service has instructed local governments and regional forest management offices to conduct focused inspections and emergency measures for landslide prevention.

Areas at risk of damage from heavy rain will undergo focused inspections and emergency measures until the 21st, targeting artificially developed mountainous areas such as mountain land conversion and temporary mountain land use permits, logging sites, locations with complaints related to landslide risks, and landslide recovery sites within the past three years, following the Korea Forest Service's directives. Subsequent actions will be taken based on the results.

As of 12 PM on the 7th, the landslide warning alert is at the 'Caution' level in Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, and at the 'Attention' level in Jeonbuk and Gyeongbuk, while other regions remain at the 'Interest' stage. The landslide warning alert is divided into four levels: Interest - Attention - Caution - Serious.

Im Sang-seop, Director of Forest Protection at the Korea Forest Service, said, “The Korea Forest Service will focus its capabilities on protecting the lives and property of the public from heavy rain in cooperation with disaster management agencies and local governments.” He added, “We ask the public to check real-time landslide prediction information and participate in responding to potential natural disasters by following local government guidance.”

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