Hinnamno One Year in Pohang, Citizen Safety as Top Priority ... Full Effort to Establish Disaster Response System

Concentrating Administrative Efforts to Establish a Proactive Disaster Response System for a "Safe City Pohang"

Mayor Lee Kang-deok: "Strengthening Preventive Measures and Cooperation Systems with Related Agencies Amid Intensifying Disasters"

Pohang City is focusing its administrative efforts on creating a "Safe City Pohang" by establishing a proactive disaster response system to protect citizens' lives and property from unpredictable climate crises such as extreme heavy rainfall.

The meeting on response to the risk of human casualties from landslides in extreme heavy rain, held last July at the City Hall Disaster and Safety Situation Room, chaired by Mayor Lee Kang-deok.

Following the massive damage caused by the record-breaking heavy rains from Typhoon Hinamno in September last year, Pohang City is making every effort to prepare countermeasures to prevent such damage from recurring and to respond to increasingly severe natural disasters.

To this end, the city continuously conducts joint extreme heavy rain response drills with related organizations as well as self-drills at the eup, myeon, and dong levels, guiding citizens to respond quickly in actual situations while strengthening inter-agency collaborative response capabilities.

Additionally, the city enacted a support ordinance to encourage the installation of flood barriers, which are effective in preventing flood damage caused by heavy rainfall. It provides up to 80% of installation costs for houses and small businesses at risk of flooding, contributing to the creation of a safe living environment for citizens.

Along with this, in response to the concentrated damage to large and small rivers in Pohang caused by Typhoon Hinamno last year, the city is working with Gyeongbuk Province to promptly start the "Local River Improvement and Restoration Project" and the "Small River Disaster Restoration Project," focusing on river safety measures.

For the "Local River Improvement and Restoration Project," 171.6 billion KRW in national and provincial funds have been secured for restoration, prioritizing work in densely populated residential areas and vulnerable sections. Riverbed maintenance has been carried out to expand the river's flow cross-section, completing approximately 300,000 cubic meters of dredging to date.

Furthermore, 41.1 billion KRW has been invested in 55 local small rivers, prioritizing construction in areas vulnerable to heavy rainfall, with efforts underway to complete the small river disaster restoration project by the end of this year.

The response speed of Pohang City to disaster situations has also improved. In August this year, during the approach of the ultra-powerful typhoon "Khanun" crossing the Korean Peninsula, Pohang was the first among cities and counties in the province to issue a "Resident Evacuation Administrative Order," proactively evacuating about 1,400 residents in risk areas such as landslides, steep slope collapses, and floods, thereby preventing potential casualties in advance.

In addition, several joint situation assessment meetings with related organizations were held before the typhoon's arrival to enhance crisis response capabilities. Access points near reservoirs and rivers, as well as underground passages, were preemptively controlled, and autonomous disaster prevention teams in eup, myeon, and dong were mobilized to promptly address any detected risks, effectively preventing casualties in advance.

Moreover, Pohang City is promoting a comprehensive urban safety plan, which focuses on establishing new levels of response infrastructure and disaster response systems. The city enacted the "Pohang City Safe City Creation Ordinance" and plans to form a committee and advisory group composed of experts to provide overall supervision and advice. Currently, the city is conducting a "Urban Safety Diagnosis and Disaster Prevention Comprehensive Plan Establishment Service."

Based on the results of this service, the city plans to actively propose smart disaster infrastructure with new disaster prevention standards to the central government, such as installing a large drainage tunnel bypassing the city outskirts and constructing flood barriers in coastal flood-prone areas. It also intends to establish long-term plans for detailed diagnosis of habitual flood areas and resident relocation measures.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, "We will prioritize citizen safety and strengthen thorough preventive measures and cooperation systems with related organizations to prepare for increasingly severe natural disasters. We will do our best to create a safe city, Pohang, where citizens and businesses can feel secure."

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