Sokcho City Establishes Proactive Snow Removal Response System to Ensure Citizen Safety

Sokcho City Establishes Comprehensive Snowstorm and Cold Wave Countermeasure Plan for Winter 2025
24-Hour Emergency System in Operation... 42 Snow Removal Vehicles to Be Intensively Deployed During Snowfall

Sokcho City in Gangwon Province has established a comprehensive snowstorm and cold wave countermeasure plan for the winter of 2025 and has begun full-scale preparations to minimize damage to citizens caused by winter snowfall and cold waves.

Sokcho City is establishing a comprehensive snowstorm and cold wave countermeasure plan for the winter of 2025 to minimize damage to citizens caused by winter snowfall and cold waves. Photo by Sokcho City

On the 10th, the city held the "2025 Winter Comprehensive Countermeasure Briefing" in the digital situation room on the second floor of the main building, where it conducted a final review of the emergency work system for each weather situation and the phased deployment plan for snow removal equipment.

The countermeasure period will run from December through March of the following year. The city will operate a 24-hour disaster safety situation room to quickly carry out forecasting, warnings, and situation dissemination, and will maintain a four-stage emergency system at all times, consisting of the preparation stage and Emergency Stages I, II, and III. For public facilities, the city will establish response plans by type and implement customized measures according to each situation.

Among these, the road sector is focused on rapid initial snow removal and the efficient operation of available resources.

The city has designated 32 routes, totaling 102.5 kilometers-including Donghae-daero, the main arterial road, and Jungang-ro, a secondary arterial road-as key snow removal sections.

In the event of snowfall, 42 snow removal vehicles (10 owned by the city, 31 privately leased, and 1 additional vehicle) will be deployed simultaneously to carry out intensive snow removal operations. This number is one more than last year, enabling even faster and smoother snow removal. In addition, the city has placed 105 snow removal bins at locations prone to icing to enhance its response capability to icy conditions.

By November, the city will have secured and stockpiled 920 tons of solid de-icing agent, 70 tons of brine solution, and 130 cubic meters of sand for snow removal. It has also completed pre-inspections of equipment such as snow removal vehicles, spreaders, and snowplow blades to ensure immediate deployment in the event of snowfall.

Along with these preparations, the city also conducted inspections to strengthen on-site response capabilities. After the briefing, Sokcho City officials toured the newly constructed snow removal material storage warehouse, which will serve as an advanced base for snow removal operations, and checked the city's readiness for winter disaster response.

Lee Byungsun, Mayor of Sokcho City, is inspecting the snow removal warehouse on the 10th. Photo by Sokcho City

The snow removal material storage warehouse was newly built in June of this year at 1006-219 Nohak-dong to strengthen the city's snow removal response base. With a total floor area of 540 square meters, the facility is equipped to safely store de-icing agents, and snow removal vehicles are stationed in the adjacent parking lot to enable rapid dispatch and initial response during heavy snowfall.

Lee Byungsun, Mayor of Sokcho, stated, "We will ensure thorough preparation for snowstorms and cold waves and operate a seamless public-private-military cooperation system to fully protect citizens' safety and mobility rights. I also ask all citizens to actively participate in clearing snow in front of their homes and businesses and to use public transportation whenever possible."

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