Naju Mayor Kang In-gyu Conducts On-site Inspection in Preparation for Typhoon 'Omais'

Published 23 Aug.2021 16:22(KST)

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong] Kang In-gyu, mayor of Naju, Jeollanam-do, inspected flood-prone areas such as the embankment of Munpyeongcheon in Dasi-myeon and drainage pump facilities in each zone in response to the forecasted northward approach of Typhoon ‘Omais’.

According to the city on the 23rd, Mayor Kang started with a typhoon preparedness video conference and then inspected the restoration site of the Munpyeongcheon embankment in Dasi-myeon, nearby village farmlands, drainage channels, and drainage pump facilities. He urged all departments to focus administrative efforts on emergency responses to minimize damage from heavy rain.

Typhoon Omais, the 12th typhoon, was forecasted to pass near Jeju Island in the afternoon and make landfall on the southern coast of Jeollanam-do at night.

With preliminary typhoon warnings expected to be issued for the entire Gwangju and Jeollanam-do regions and surrounding seas, heavy rain of 100mm to a maximum of 300mm and strong winds of 35 to 65 km/h (with maximum instantaneous wind speeds of 100 km/h) are anticipated over two days.

The Munpyeongcheon embankment in Dasi-myeon collapsed over a 230m section due to the water pressure from the swollen river caused by heavy rain reaching up to 400mm on August 7-8 last year.

As a result, 532 hectares (1.6 million pyeong) of rice paddies in Bokam, Gahung, and Juksan fields in Dasi-myeon were submerged for three days.

Earlier, the city completed emergency repairs of the embankment in August last year and finished reinforcement work on the Munpyeongcheon embankment on the 20th of last month.

To permanently prevent recurring heavy rain crises and damage, construction of the ‘Munpyeongcheon Disaster Recovery (Improvement) Project’ is scheduled to begin as early as the end of this year.

The project will involve building a 4.6 km embankment and reconstructing three nearby bridges, with a national budget investment of 22.5 billion KRW.

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, “We will do our utmost to minimize damage such as housing accidents and farmland flooding caused by this typhoon,” and added, “We will operate a 24-hour emergency response system based on cooperation between departments and related organizations, including the operation of drainage pump facilities.”