Scale of Wildfire Damage on East Coast '53 Times Yeouido'... 7,330 Evacuated

15,420ha of Forest Damage, 455 People in Temporary Housing... Special Disaster Zone Declared

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced that as of 6 p.m. on the 6th, an estimated 15,420 hectares of forest damage (area affected by the wildfire) has occurred due to the wildfire on the East Coast.

This area is 53 times the size of Yeouido (290 hectares) and equivalent to 21,597 times the size of a soccer field (0.714 hectares). By region, Uljin suffered the largest damage with 12,695 hectares, followed by Samcheok with 656 hectares, Gangneung with 1,825 hectares, Donghae with 169 hectares, and Yeongwol with 75 hectares of forest damage.

No casualties have been reported, but 463 facilities were destroyed, including 388 in Uljin, 12 in Gangneung, and 63 in Donghae. In Uljin and Donghae, 261 and 62 houses were destroyed, respectively. Due to the wildfire, 4,635 households comprising 7,330 people are currently evacuated. Among them, 4,150 households (6,497 people) are evacuated in Uljin and Samcheok, and 362 households (688 people) in Donghae. Temporary shelters have been set up in 19 locations such as public facilities, village halls, and senior centers, where 408 households and 455 people are staying.

As of 4 p.m. on the same day, firefighting efforts involve 106 helicopters and 854 vehicles including command cars, fire engines, and firefighting trucks. A total of 18,954 personnel including firefighters, police officers, coast guards, soldiers, and public officials have been deployed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The East Coast wildfire is divided into seven ongoing fires between Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Samcheok, Gangwon-do, and between Gangneung and Donghae, Gangwon-do. In addition to these areas, wildfires have also occurred in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do; Geumjeong, Busan; Ansan, Gyeonggi-do; Dalseong, Daegu; and Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a total of 245 wildfires have occurred from January 1 to the 5th of this year, which is 94.4% more than the 126 cases during the same period last year, nearly doubling. Compared to the average of 135 cases over the past three years (2019?2021), it is 87.7% higher.

The government declared Uljin County, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Samcheok City, Gangwon-do as special disaster zones on this day. This is the fourth time the government has declared a special disaster zone due to a large wildfire, following the 2000 East Coast wildfire (April 7?15), the 2005 Yangyang wildfire (April 4?6), and the 2019 Gangwon East Coast wildfire (April 4?6).

With the declaration of a special disaster zone, the government will provide national funding to partially cover restoration costs for private properties such as houses and public facilities damaged by the wildfire, and will provide disaster relief funds to affected residents for livelihood support. Additionally, benefits such as deferral of local tax payments and reductions in health insurance, electricity, telecommunications, city gas, and local heating fees will be granted. The government plans to promote the declaration of special disaster zones for other affected areas such as Gangneung and Donghae as well.

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