[News Terms] Frequent Alarms Causing Resident Inconvenience 'Border Area Disaster Accident Crisis Management Manual'

The 'Border Area Disaster Accident Crisis Management Manual' is a manual created by the government to prevent disaster accidents caused by dam collapses or unauthorized water releases in inter-Korean shared rivers that may occur in border areas. It was established in 2010 following a tragedy in 2009 when North Korea released water from the Hwanggang Dam upstream of the Imjin River without permission, resulting in the deaths of six campers downstream.

The crisis alert is issued and responded to in four stages: Interest, Caution, Warning, and Severe. Alerts at each stage are issued based on the water level at the Hwangsan Water Level Station located at Pilsunggyo Bridge on the Southern Limit Line (the northernmost water level observation station on the Imjin River) (Interest alert is issued when the water level is 7.5m or higher), the water level at the Peace Dam (at least 210m or higher), abnormal activities by North Korea at the Hwanggang and Imnam Dams, or damage to the facilities of the Hwanggang and Imnam Dams.

On June 29 last year, the Gunam Flood Control Dam on the Imjin River in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, was releasing water from the upper reaches of the Imjin River.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At each stage, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power communicate rainfall and water level situations to relevant agencies, while the National Intelligence Service, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Unification monitor and analyze developments in North Korea and disseminate information. Depending on the situation, evacuation warning broadcasts for residents downstream of the Imjin River, Peace Dam, and Hwacheon Dam, as well as consultations with North Korea, are conducted.

Additionally, during the annual flood disaster response period (May 15 to October 15), if the water level at the Hwangsan Water Level Station at Pilsunggyo Bridge exceeds 1 meter or rises rapidly twice consecutively by 10 cm within 10 minutes, the situation is communicated to residents and campers to prompt evacuation.

On the 8th, Minister of Environment Han Hwajin visited the Gunam Dam and the Hwangsan Water Level Station at Pilsunggyo Bridge to inspect the facilities and met with residents of Yeoncheon County to hear their difficulties. The residents requested Minister Han to improve the Imjin River basin crisis alert system, which is necessary but causes inconvenience due to frequent alert issuances.

From June 21 to October 6 last year, a total of 1,297 mm of rain fell in the Imjin River basin. The water level at the Hwangsan Water Level Station exceeded 1 meter?the evacuation level for visitors?12 times (for 47 days), resulting in a total of 134 alerts being issued downstream.

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