Gyeonggi-do Raises Heatwave Warning from 'Caution' to 'Severe'... Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Activated

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] As the heatwave intensifies with heatwave warnings issued across all 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, an emergency countermeasure meeting was held on the 21st to raise the heatwave crisis alert level from 'caution' to 'severe' and to respond with full force.

Accordingly, the province expanded the dedicated heatwave response team currently in operation and proactively began operating the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters starting that day.

Once the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is activated, the heatwave response team, which had been operating with 6 teams and 12 departments, will be significantly strengthened to 13 teams and 25 departments in terms of organization and personnel.

In addition, a daily heatwave countermeasure meeting will be held every day at 10 a.m., chaired by the Safety Management Director, to assess the heatwave situation of the day and respond to emergencies.

The province plans to actively promote compliance with the heat rest time (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) for outdoor workers such as those at construction sites during heatwaves through local government websites, electronic billboards, and village broadcasts.

Furthermore, to minimize casualties among vulnerable groups during heatwaves, following the support of 1.527 billion KRW for cooling supplies for elderly vulnerable to heatwaves provided to cities and counties, an emergency budget of 800 million KRW has been allocated to support cooling supplies (cool mats, cooling vests, bottled water, etc.) for vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients and mobility-impaired individuals.

Regarding COVID-19, during the heatwave countermeasure period, on-site inspections will focus on quarantine practices such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and visitor log maintenance at currently operating cooling shelters and heatwave mitigation facilities.

Earlier in May, the province established the '2021 Heatwave Comprehensive Countermeasure' to focus on managing vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone and homeless people. When warnings are issued, 4,287 care personnel including life support workers conduct safety checks and monitoring of elderly under care via phone calls or direct visits. Additionally, measures to protect vulnerable groups from heatwaves are being implemented in various ways, such as creating and operating rest shelters for mobile workers at 81 provincial government buildings and affiliated public institutions.

Park Won-seok, Director of the Provincial Safety Management Office, emphasized, "We will do our best to minimize damage to residents from disasters such as heatwaves this summer through proactive and meticulous heatwave countermeasures."

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