Kim Hak-dong, Yecheon County Governor, "8,000 Public, Private, and Military Personnel Deployed for Recovery Efforts"... Request for 'Special Disaster Area' Declaration

On the 18th at 10 a.m., Yecheon County in Gyeongbuk shared the damage status caused by the heavy rain that continued for four days from the 13th across all areas of Yecheon with the residents at Yecheon County Office and explained the future action plans.

At the briefing, Kim Hak-dong, the mayor of Yecheon County, said, “First, I am sorry to deliver heartbreaking news due to this heavy rain, and I cannot suppress the great sorrow over the tragic situation,” adding, “Due to the concentrated heavy rain in Yongmun, Hyoja, Eunpung, and Gamcheon myeon, there have been 17 casualties as of 9 a.m. on the 18th, with 9 deaths and 8 missing persons, and we are currently putting all efforts into searching for the missing.”

In Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, where unprecedented heavy rain caused 17 casualties including 9 deaths and 8 missing persons, County Governor Kim Hak-dong is briefing on the flood damage.

Mayor Kim continued, “Due to unprecedented rainfall across the entire Yecheon County, 448 residents evacuated to village halls, and 40 displaced persons are staying at the temporary residence facility set up at the Yecheon County Culture and Sports Center.”

Regarding the current measures, Mayor Kim explained, “We are concentrating administrative power on emergency restoration of damage sites in residents’ daily lives left by the water bomb, and to search for missing persons whose life status is still unknown and to quickly restore the damaged areas, a total of 8,075 personnel have been deployed as of the 18th, including 2,335 public officials, 625 police officers, 716 firefighters, 2,949 military personnel, and 1,450 civilians.”

Mayor Kim also said, “We have deployed 420 pieces of equipment for emergency restoration across all sectors of social infrastructure, including road and embankment washouts, water and sewage facility damage, house damage, burial, livestock shed damage, power outages, water outages, and farmland flooding; however, due to the continuously ongoing heavy rain, it is still difficult to grasp the full extent of the damage.”

Yecheon County is prioritizing the search and rescue of missing persons by deploying manpower and resources and is swiftly identifying areas requiring restoration to accelerate the work. To support this, they also plan to request a ‘Special Disaster Area Declaration.’

Yecheon County has designated the period from the 17th to the 21st (one week) as a mourning period to commemorate the deceased victims, expressing condolences by wearing black ribbons. They have also assigned dedicated departments for managing displaced persons, emergency facility restoration, volunteers, and other sectors to focus on support and recovery.

Mayor Kim said, “Although this is a deeply heartbreaking event, from now on, we will mobilize all administrative capabilities to help residents regain stability and return to daily life as soon as possible, working together with related organizations for rapid recovery.”

In conclusion, Mayor Kim urged, “I ask the residents to consider and help each other, unite with one heart to overcome all these difficulties, and above all, since the safety of residents is the most important, please pay close attention to disaster alerts such as safety texts and evacuate immediately to a safe place if you detect any signs of danger.”

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