<산림청, 산사태 위급 상황 땐 '주민 강제 대피 명령'> Forest Service Issues 'Mandatory Evacuation Order for Residents' in Case of Landslide Emergencies

Due to the impact of climate change, there are observations that ‘extreme heavy rainfall’ may occur frequently not only this year but also in the future.

Accordingly, the Korea Forest Service announced on the 18th that it plans to respond to ‘extreme heavy rainfall’ by operating a forecasting and warning system that can quickly and accurately predict and disseminate disaster situations such as landslides, while also implementing safety measures to minimize human casualties.

First, the Korea Forest Service will introduce and implement a ‘mandatory evacuation order for residents.’ The evacuation order can be issued by the head of the Korea Forest Service when an emergency situation occurs, such as issuing a warning or alert at the ‘caution’ or ‘warning’ levels among the four stages of landslide crisis alerts (interest, caution, warning, severe).

The evacuation order will be used as a basis to forcibly evacuate residents who do not recognize the severity of the crisis alert situation and hesitate on-site.

In addition, the current management target for landslide-prone areas, which mainly focuses on grade 1 landslide risk maps, will be expanded to cover all forests (grades 1 to 5). By systematizing management plans and response guidelines according to risk levels, effective responses can be made at disaster sites such as landslides.

Furthermore, the Korea Forest Service plans to specially manage areas developed for other purposes besides ‘landslide-prone areas’ such as housing, roads, and orchards by integrating and sharing information across ministries, while conducting regular inspections and rapid responses to prevent blind spots in landslide management.

Nam Seong-hyun, head of the Korea Forest Service, said, “We have determined that the existing landslide prevention measures have limitations in responding to ‘extreme heavy rainfall’ that will become more frequent due to climate change. We will make every effort to minimize human casualties by preparing measures such as introducing mandatory evacuation orders for residents, establishing a scientifically based forecasting and warning system, strengthening management of landslide-prone areas, and eliminating blind spots in landslide management.”

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