Typhoon 'Hinnamnor' Approaches North... Seoul City Deploys Flood Prevention Facilities and Evacuation Personnel

Installation of Flood Prevention Facilities in Over 17,000 Households Across 6 Districts Including Gangnam, Concentrated Deployment of Sandbags
New Personnel Deployed to Guide Evacuation from Semi-Basements to Prevent Similar Damage... Inspection and Maintenance of Over 550,000 Rainwater Drains

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 2nd that it will make every effort to take proactive measures to protect citizens' precious lives and property and minimize damage as the super typhoon No. 11, ‘Hinnamnor,’ approaches.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Typhoon 'Hinnamnor (HINNAMNOR),' which formed at 9 PM on August 28, is moving north-northwest at a speed of 2 km per hour as of September 2 (central pressure 935 hPa, maximum wind speed 49 m/s, very strong typhoon) approximately 560 km southeast of Taipei, Taiwan. The typhoon is forecasted to move to about 500 km south-southwest of Seogwipo by 9 AM on the 5th, approach about 90 km southwest of Busan by 9 AM on the 6th, and dissipate as an extratropical cyclone over the East Sea on the 7th.

From the 5th, the entire country is expected to enter the direct and indirect influence zone of the typhoon, with very strong winds (maximum wind speed 51 m/s) anticipated. Accordingly, Seoul is preparing for potential impacts on the metropolitan area on the 5th and 6th by establishing a proactive response system and initiating preemptive measures.

Seoul is additionally installing flood prevention facilities for over 17,000 households affected by flooding in districts such as Gangnam, Dongjak, Seocho, Yeongdeungpo, Gwanak, and Guro to prevent repeated damage from the recent heavy rains. Approximately 170,000 sandbags have been stockpiled, with 80,000 of them pre-positioned in disaster-prone areas to prepare for flooding.

Personnel including district government officials and local autonomous disaster prevention teams will be deployed to alleys in flood-vulnerable areas such as semi-basements to assist residents in evacuating quickly in case of emergency. Care workers will visit flood-vulnerable households to identify risk factors and take preventive actions in advance. Additionally, a constant emergency contact network will be maintained to ensure immediate dispatch and relief activities during emergencies.

To prevent safety accidents such as people falling into open sewer manholes, fall-prevention facilities are being installed inside manholes. An initial 2,000 units will be installed before the Chuseok holiday, with plans to complete installation of about 10,000 units by the end of this year.

In particular, since typhoons can cause greater damage from strong winds than from heavy rain, the city has checked the stability of signboards, street trees, and other items at risk of toppling. To prepare for fallen street trees and other damages, emergency recovery equipment has been mobilized, and a cooperative system has been established to quickly restore electricity, gas, communications, and water supply services.

Following the concentrated heavy rains in August, re-inspections and dredging of sewer pipes and rainwater inlets have been conducted, focusing on low-lying and flood-prone areas. Additional measures such as cover removal and cleaning of rainwater inlet connections have been implemented to ensure smooth inflow of rainwater into sewer pipes. Re-inspections of disaster prevention facilities such as rainwater pumping stations, sluice gates, rainwater reservoirs, and river embankments have been carried out. The operational status of emergency recovery equipment like motor pumps has been checked, and districts with insufficient supplies have been instructed to replenish them to prepare for emergencies.

On the same day at 10 AM, Seoul held a meeting with the Autonomous Police Committee to establish an active cooperation system with the autonomous police. In flood-prone main roads such as Gangnam Station intersection, if there is a risk of flooding, the city plans to proactively prevent casualties and vehicle flooding by blocking road access and guiding vehicles to detour through close cooperation with the police. Furthermore, all 25 autonomous districts in Seoul will hold emergency meetings to reconfirm preemptive measures against heavy rain and strong winds by sector through the weekend in preparation for the typhoon’s approach.

Meanwhile, anticipating the typhoon’s impact on Seoul around the 5th and 6th, the city plans to implement emergency operations of the Seoul Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters starting from the weekend depending on weather conditions, mobilizing all administrative resources to minimize damage.

Seoul urges citizens to refrain from entering rivers or valleys in preparation for heavy rains accompanying the typhoon and to actively participate in safety measures such as inspecting flood barriers in low-lying flood-prone households to prevent damage. Additionally, to prepare for strong wind damage caused by the typhoon, citizens should frequently check the stability of signboards, roofs, and windows of old buildings, and promptly report any concerns to their district office or 119 emergency services.

In particular, it has been found that taping glass windows in an X shape or attaching wet newspapers is not very effective. When applying tape, it should be done so that the glass is fixed to the window frame to prevent the glass from shaking.

Han Yu-seok, Director of the Seoul Water Circulation Safety Bureau, said, “We will thoroughly prepare in advance to prevent additional damage from this typhoon. Since citizens’ interest and active participation are very important for typhoon damage prevention, we ask everyone to frequently check the weather information released in the future and actively participate in damage prevention.”

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