Jeonnam Province Allocates 47.1 Billion Won for Heavy Rain Damage Recovery

Large-Scale Agricultural Infrastructure Restoration

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) announced on the 22nd that it will invest a total of 47.1 billion KRW, including 33.9 billion KRW in national funds and 13.2 billion KRW in local funds, for the restoration of agricultural infrastructure such as reservoirs damaged by recent heavy rains.

Due to the heavy rains that continued from July 28 to August 11, a total of 232 sites with agricultural infrastructure damage worth 18.5 billion KRW occurred in nine cities and counties including Gokseong-gun, such as 49 reservoir embankment breaches and 47 flooding incidents at water intake and drainage stations.

While the province has completed emergency restoration by deploying 192 restoration equipment units and 165 personnel, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters recently confirmed restoration costs of 47.1 billion KRW, which is 2.5 times the damage amount.

Jeonnam Province plans to undertake large-scale restoration of agricultural infrastructure by changing the existing restoration method to an improved restoration method to fundamentally resolve the causes of the damage.

Accordingly, emergency floodgates will be installed in reservoirs, and water intake and drainage stations will be improved by installing underwater pumps and raising electrical rooms above flood levels.

In particular, since there are concerns about disruptions in agricultural water supply due to damage to agricultural infrastructure, restoration is scheduled to be completed before the next farming season, and the province plans to invest provincial funds in reservoir dredging projects excluded from national funding.

Kim Kyung-ho, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “We will do our best to ensure that restoration from rain damage is carried out promptly,” and added, “We will make every effort to secure agricultural water and prepare for disasters.”

Meanwhile, in the Jeonnam region, 10 cities and counties including Suncheon, Naju, Gwangyang (Daap), Damyang, Gokseong, Gurye, Hwasun, Hampyeong, Yeonggwang, and Jangseong have been declared special disaster areas, with restoration costs reaching 915.4 billion KRW.