Gyeonggi-do Implements Preemptive Emergency Duty Amid Heavy Snow and Cold Wave Forecasts for Lunar New Year Holiday

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is taking preemptive measures in response to heavy snow and cold wave forecasts during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Gyeonggi Province announced that from the night of the 19th to the 20th, snowfall is expected mainly in the central inland area, and temperatures are forecasted to drop sharply from the 23rd during the Lunar New Year holiday, prompting preemptive action.

The province began preemptive initial response duty starting at 5 p.m. on the 19th. On the 20th, in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, an emergency countermeasure meeting will be held with 31 cities and counties chaired by the Director of the Gyeonggi Province Safety Management Office.

In response to the heavy snow and cold wave forecast, the province plans to focus on vulnerable roads, including 468 habitual freezing sections within the province, 254 boundary roads between cities and counties, and 38 major roads in the metropolitan area, by preemptively spreading de-icing agents and operating automatic snow removal equipment.

Additionally, in case of unexpected situations such as road closures due to snowfall during the Lunar New Year holiday, real-time control status will be provided using the Urban Traffic Information Center.

In particular, as a management measure for tunnels near which chain collision accidents recently occurred due to road ice, weather information such as expected freezing times and snow removal status will be shared with highway and private road management agencies.

Furthermore, anticipating a prolonged cold wave including the Lunar New Year holiday period, the province will strengthen continuous protection support systems such as safety confirmation services for about 80,000 vulnerable elderly people and emergency supplies support for 782 homeless individuals.

Yeon Je-chan, Director of the Safety Management Office of the province, emphasized, "We will thoroughly prepare by rechecking various preparations in each field such as snow removal on frozen road sections and care for cold wave vulnerable groups to prevent casualties and traffic inconveniences during the Lunar New Year holiday."

Meanwhile, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted 1 to 5 cm of snowfall mainly in the northeastern part of Gyeonggi Province starting from the afternoon of the 19th, and the lowest temperature on the morning of the 24th during the Lunar New Year holiday is expected to drop to minus 20℃.

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