Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Operate 'Winter Natural Disaster' Preparedness Period Until November 14

Thorough Preparations for Heavy Snow and Cold Waves in Winter Season

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 16th that it will operate a pre-preparation period for winter natural disasters (heavy snow and cold waves) until November 14 to prevent casualties from winter natural disasters, strengthen on-site response capabilities, and establish a rapid support system.

Ahead of the winter natural disaster countermeasure period, which runs from November 15 to March 15 of next year, the Ministry plans to focus on key tasks for scientific and proactive situation management, such as analyzing past damage cases and inspecting snow removal response systems reflecting regional characteristics.

Under the goal of "minimizing public inconvenience through the establishment of an on-site centered pre-preparation system," the government has ordered related agencies to thoroughly prepare in advance to prevent traffic congestion and isolation at tunnel entrances and exits caused by heavy snow, and to avoid recurrence of inconvenience in pedestrian paths and side roads due to insufficient snow removal.

First, the content of disaster text messages related to snowfall will be subdivided by situation to ensure rapid information delivery to the public. In particular, by utilizing data from the National Police Agency, real-time guidance will be provided through road helpers (navigation) even for local roads where information on unexpected situations and detour routes was insufficient, minimizing public inconvenience.

To prevent vehicle slip accidents, tunnel entrances and exits on highways, national roads, and local roads will be designated as pre-snow removal work sections for focused management. To solve the problem of delayed snow removal on side roads in densely populated residential areas, small snow removal equipment will be expanded to minimize damage. To resolve the supply issue of snow removal materials caused by last year's surge in import prices of calcium chloride and salt, the Ministry plans to steadily promote stockpile management by adjusting monthly purchase timings by demand institutions.

Additionally, as domestic demand for electric vehicles increases, preparations are underway to secure electric vehicle-specific tow trucks by region and to expand rapid charging stations for electric vehicles at highway rest areas to enable collaborative emergency response.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to minimize public inconvenience by conducting re-surveys of winter disaster-prone areas and providing multi-channel real-time disaster safety information in cooperation with local governments and related agencies. Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min stated, "The government will do its best to protect the lives and property of the people through proactive preparation for winter natural disasters in cooperation with local governments and related agencies," and added, "We ask the public to pay attention to weather forecasts and real-time traffic information, and to thoroughly prepare for a safe winter by checking winter equipment in advance."

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