President Yoon Orders Long-Term Flood Control Measures Including Deep Underground Rainwater Tunnel

Yoon "Due to climate change, abnormal weather becomes commonplace... Fundamental urban infrastructure must be established"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 23rd, President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed to "expand infrastructure such as the deep underground rainwater tunnel, a facility that stores rainwater underground to minimize damage from heavy rain, and establish a flood forecasting and warning system utilizing advanced science, to prepare a 'century-long flood control plan.'"

On the same day, President Yoon visited the deep underground rainwater tunnel located in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, inspected the facility, reviewed permanent flood prevention measures for heavy rain, and then gave these orders to the related ministries.

The Sinwol-dong deep underground rainwater tunnel is the first underground storage facility in Korea that can store the equivalent of 160 swimming pools of water (total storage capacity of 320,000㎥). When heavy rain occurs, it temporarily stores rainwater that falls in nearby areas such as Sinwol-dong and Hwagok-dong, and after the rain stops, it discharges the water into Anyangcheon Stream through a pumping station.

The Sinwol-dong area was a habitual flood zone in the past, but since the pilot operation of this facility in August 2020, it has not experienced large-scale flood damage. During the record-breaking heavy rain on the 8th and 9th of this month, the deep underground rainwater tunnel temporarily stored a total of 225,000㎥ of water, preventing flood damage.

While closely inspecting the operation status and functions of the facility, President Yoon said, "If the deep underground rainwater tunnel construction plans for the seven habitual flood zones announced by Seoul City in 2011 had been implemented as originally planned, the damage to the lives and property of the people could have been significantly reduced."

President Yoon particularly emphasized, "As abnormal weather caused by climate change becomes commonplace, Korea is experiencing a pattern where heavy rain falls again after the monsoon season in June and July," adding, "Since unprecedented record-breaking heavy rain can occur at any time, fundamental urban safety infrastructure such as the construction of deep underground rainwater tunnels must be established."

President Yoon also urged the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment to actively support Seoul City financially and administratively so that facilities like deep underground rainwater tunnels can be installed in areas with high flood risk such as Gangnam Station, Gwanghwamun, and Dorimcheon.

Furthermore, he repeatedly emphasized that related ministries and local governments should mobilize all resources and means to ensure the swift completion of damage recovery so that flood victims can return to their daily lives as soon as possible.

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