Gyeonggi-do Designates 774 Locations as 'Flood and Wind Disaster Risk Areas' Due to Typhoons and More

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has designated 774 locations at risk of disasters as disaster-prone areas to prepare for typhoons, heavy rain, and other wind and water-related disasters that could cause casualties. Additionally, 1,536 new heatwave mitigation facilities such as shade shelters will be installed to prepare for heatwaves.

On the 18th, Gyeonggi Province held a summer natural disaster countermeasure inspection meeting at the disaster safety situation room of the Gwanggyo new government building, chaired by Acting Governor Oh Byung-kwon, with heads of departments and bureaus, and deputy heads of 31 cities and counties participating via video conference.

The meeting was organized to enhance the response capabilities to summer natural disasters such as typhoons, heavy rain, and heatwaves, and discussed the department- and bureau-specific implementation plans established by Gyeonggi Province.

Acting Governor Oh Byung-kwon stated, "In the changing climate environment where abnormal weather continues, only with a mindset and preparation to always be ready for the worst-case scenario can the best response be possible," and urged, "Cities, counties, and departments should once again review their preparations by sector to prevent casualties from natural disasters."

The province plans to collaborate with the Korea Meteorological Administration from the forecast stage to promptly relay situations to related departments and agencies, and to proactively manage situations by pre-announcing emergency stages. It will also unify the emergency response stages of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) and the Regional Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (RDSCH) to enhance connectivity.

As a countermeasure for wind and water disasters such as typhoons and heavy rain, the province first designated 774 vulnerable areas at risk of casualties as concern areas, appointing public officials and community leaders as on-site management officers to quickly relay risk situations during weather warnings and to control and evacuate residents.

To ensure close on-site response, cooperation with related agencies such as police and fire departments and autonomous disaster prevention groups in towns, townships, and neighborhoods will be strengthened. Additionally, the number of personnel in autonomous disaster prevention groups in rural and forest areas has been increased by 1,088, from 8,586 to 9,674.

Furthermore, the province will establish an on-site management system capable of monitoring and automatic control by installing a rapid notification system for flooding in 41 riverside parking lots, river access blocking facilities, and vehicle blocking facilities at flood-prone underground passages.

Alongside this, the period from the 20th of this month to September 30th has been designated as the heatwave countermeasure period, during which a comprehensive heatwave countermeasure plan containing various preparedness measures will be implemented.

When a heatwave warning is issued, a joint task force (TF) for heatwave situation management will be operated according to response stages, and the Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters will be activated to focus all efforts on preventing heatwave damage.

Key measures include expanding heatwave mitigation facilities such as shade shelters and shade trees from 7,984 locations to 9,520 locations this year. The province will invest a total budget of 4.635 billion KRW to expand heatwave mitigation facilities.

Customized intensive management will be promoted for heatwave-vulnerable groups such as elderly people in need, homeless individuals, and construction workers.

Main projects include welfare calls and health checks for vulnerable elderly during heatwaves, patrols in areas with high concentrations of homeless people, and recommendations to operate rest periods for construction workers during peak heat hours (2 PM to 5 PM).

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