Songpa-gu Overcomes Severe Cold with Comprehensive Cold Wave Measures

[Seoul District News] Songpa-gu Establishes 2022-23 Comprehensive Cold Wave Measures ▲ Disaster helpers formed to focus on protecting vulnerable groups ▲ 87 cold wave shelters designated including senior centers and welfare centers ▲ Bus stops equipped with windbreaks and heated seats ... Dongjak-gu to implement comprehensive cold wave measures until mid-March next year, focusing on protecting vulnerable groups and inspecting facility safety

Bus Stop Windshield (Windbreaker)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seogang-seok) has established a comprehensive cold wave countermeasure plan for 2022-23 and will actively implement it until March next year.

The district has prepared various support systems to protect vulnerable groups from the winter cold and ensure that all residents can spend a warm and safe winter.

A Cold Wave Task Force (TF) has been formed to operate during normal times, and when cold wave advisories or warnings are issued, a 24-hour comprehensive situation room and cold wave countermeasure headquarters will enter an emergency duty system.

In particular, when a cold wave advisory is issued, the district promotes cold wave preparedness guidelines in real-time through SNS media (blogs, card news, Twitter, etc.) and large electronic billboards, and sends text message alerts to residents for quick response.

▲Happy Fence ▲Voluntary Disaster Prevention Corps ▲and about 1,500 disaster helpers including local residents conduct visits and welfare calls targeting elderly living alone and those with mobility difficulties.

Especially, the district health centers have 42 dedicated visiting personnel who provide meticulous care and management for vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone, disabled persons, and low-income households.

Additionally, a total of 87 locations including senior centers and welfare centers equipped with heating facilities within the district have been designated as cold wave shelters, among which ▲Namcheon Senior Center and ▲Obongsan Senior Center operate as temporary evacuation shelters. In case of power outages due to cold waves or heavy snow that make heating impossible, residents can stay and receive meals at these temporary shelters.

Furthermore, the district has installed ▲60 windbreak shelters and ▲48 heated seats at bus stops to provide warmth for residents using public transportation during winter, and plans to add more installations by next year to further increase resident satisfaction.

Songpa-gu Mayor Seogang-seok stated, “We will continuously check the living conditions of vulnerable groups and expand cold wave mitigation facilities to ensure that all residents can spend a warm winter without difficulties through meticulous administration.”

As cold waves continue nationwide, Dongjak-gu (Mayor Park Il-ha) has established a ‘Comprehensive Cold Wave Countermeasure’ plan and is implementing tailored measures to protect vulnerable groups from winter cold and safely manage facilities.

First, the district will operate a ‘Disaster Safety Comprehensive Situation Room’ composed of six departments until March 15 next year to respond to situations. The key focus areas are ▲situation management response ▲protection of vulnerable groups ▲facility safety management ▲worker protection, among others.

Especially this year, the district is expanding and additionally operating resident-friendly facilities with high satisfaction. Cold wave shelters have increased from 7 to 18 locations, and heated seats at bus stops currently operate at 27 locations, with 8 more to be installed by January next year.

For cold wave prevention, the Care SOS service has added items for frozen pipe prevention and fall prevention. Furthermore, to eliminate welfare blind spots, the district has increased the types of crisis information discovered through big data and operates an emergency hotline welfare counseling center for crisis households.

Alongside this, the district is conducting the ‘Dongjak Together Network,’ a public-private cooperation system involving community centers and volunteers. Through this, vulnerable groups during cold waves are identified and their health status is regularly checked via visits or phone calls.

During cold wave advisories, disaster helpers (136 people) confirm the well-being of vulnerable groups through text messages and promote cold wave preparedness guidelines to prevent cold-related illnesses.

The health center provides cold protection supplies and conducts cold wave response education and health management for those vulnerable to cerebrovascular diseases and those living in poor housing conditions.

To prevent accidents at vulnerable facilities, the district conducts regular safety inspections of electrical equipment and urban gas management facilities and promotes facility safety measures against cold waves through manager safety guidance.

Dongjak-gu Mayor Park Il-ha emphasized, “We will concentrate all administrative power to prepare for the cold wave,” and added, “We will do our best to ensure that all residents can have a safe and warm winter without accidents.”

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