Korea Forest Service Selects 'Ttangmillim' Management Targets and Prevents Damage... Develops Ttangmillim Risk Map

Selection of Nationwide Landslide Risk Areas... Identification of Management Targets
Pilot Operation of Unmanned Remote Landslide Monitoring System... Plans for Supplementary and Expanded Installation
Classification into 3 Grades Based on Risk and Vulnerability... Proactive Response Including Permanent Restoration

Provided by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service will select and expand the management targets for 'ttangmilrim' (land creep) and take proactive measures to prevent damage, focusing on areas with high risk of harm.

On the 28th, the Korea Forest Service announced the 'ttangmilrim Prevention and Response Promotion Measures and Future Plans.' The core of the plan is to identify areas nationwide at risk of ttangmilrim in advance and take proactive measures.

Ttangmilrim is a phenomenon where the ground weakens as water accumulates underground, causing the slope to gradually collapse. It can cause more extensive damage than landslides, making immediate response essential.

Accordingly, the Korea Forest Service has conducted and completed a nationwide basic survey to understand the current status of ttangmilrim and plans to select about 20,000 high-risk sites and conduct additional detailed investigations of 2,000 sites annually.

The previously conducted basic survey used a time-series analysis algorithm to select areas where elevation displacement of more than 5 meters occurred, then extracted about 190,000 ttangmilrim sites nationwide. Quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were also used to prioritize the risk levels of ttangmilrim.

Based on this, the Korea Forest Service plans to proactively select about 20,000 sites with high ttangmilrim potential and conduct detailed investigations of 2,000 sites annually from 2019 to 2028.

The detailed investigations will include visual inspections, physical explorations, and comprehensive evaluations of the ttangmilrim risk sites, with the results used to classify the sites by grade.

Each ttangmilrim risk area will be classified into three grades?A, B, and C?based on risk and vulnerability, with corresponding measures taken for each grade.

Provided by Korea Forest Service

In the detailed investigations conducted from 2019 to 2020, 39 sites were classified as Grade A, suspected of ttangmilrim occurrence or high risk, and 38 sites were classified as Grade B, where ttangmilrim occurrence is a concern.

The Korea Forest Service manages the selected ttangmilrim risk areas (management targets) by dividing them into structural measures and non-structural measures.

Structural measures refer to permanent restoration projects carried out in areas where signs of ttangmilrim, such as cracks or steps in the mountain terrain, have already appeared and where there is a high risk of casualties and property damage in case of disaster.

Non-structural measures involve preventing ttangmilrim damage through unmanned remote monitoring systems and periodic on-site inspections.

The unmanned remote monitoring system is currently installed and being pilot-operated at 40 sites nationwide, enabling early detection and response to ttangmilrim phenomena. The Korea Forest Service plans to supplement and expand the installation of the unmanned remote monitoring system based on the pilot operation results.

Additionally, the Korea Forest Service plans to develop a nationwide ttangmilrim risk map by 2024 based on evaluations and analyses of risk factors such as geology and topography, and separately establish management guidelines for efficient restoration and continuous management of ttangmilrim risk areas.

Im Sang-seop, Director of Forest Protection at the Korea Forest Service, said, "We will ensure thorough management to prevent casualties and property damage caused by ttangmilrim," and added, "In the event of a disaster, we ask the public to actively cooperate with emergency evacuation recommendations (orders) from the government and local governments."

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