Close Care for Vulnerable Groups Amid Heatwave... Songpa-gu's 'Cooling Welfare'

Songpa-gu Intensively Monitors the Well-being of Vulnerable Groups Such as Elderly Living Alone Amid Unprecedented Heatwave

Disaster Helpers Check in Real-Time via KakaoTalk, Providing Over 3,500 Water Bottles and Fans

Homeless Heatwave Response Team Also Patrols Daily, Offering Ice Water and Snacks

Visiting Elderly Living Alone in Bangi 2-dong

As a heatwave warning has been continuously issued in Seoul for a week, Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) is conducting close monitoring focused on vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone to prepare for the heatwave.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “Elderly and low-income groups not only have relatively low ownership of cooling devices, but even if they have them, they often cannot use them sufficiently due to the burden of electricity bills. Therefore, public officials and community leaders are visiting more frequently to check on their well-being and focus on practical support to reduce heat-related damage.”

The area Songpa-gu pays the most attention to is checking on elderly living alone who are vulnerable to the heatwave.

Disaster helpers play a significant role in this. Composed of community leaders and local care groups, they have expanded their well-being checks, which were previously conducted every 2-3 days by phone or visits, due to the ongoing heatwave.

For example, the Pungnap 1-dong Community Leaders Association uses KakaoTalk daily to exchange videos and photos with elderly living alone to check on their condition. The Bangi 2-dong disaster helpers visited elderly living alone directly the day after the heatwave warning was raised to “severe,” bringing portable water bottles filled with cold water.

Starting August 9, the district will provide 2,250 portable water bottles with cooling bags and 1,500 fans to vulnerable groups to help them prepare for heat-related illnesses in daily life.

Earlier in July, over three weeks, 197 cooling shelters such as senior centers were inspected, 53 cooling devices were replaced, and 52 emergency first aid kits were additionally installed. Continuous guidance is provided so that anyone can use the cooling shelters, and during heatwave alerts, 12 extended shelters remain open until 9 p.m., and one night shelter is open until 7 a.m. the next day.

Additionally, the district operates a safe lodging facility using local accommodations (1 location, 6 rooms), and the homeless heatwave response team continues meticulous care by checking on high-priority individuals and providing ice water.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “Alongside the government’s heatwave measures, we will strive to provide practical, community-based support so that residents in difficult circumstances can overcome this heatwave healthily.”

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