Chungnam Prepares for Summer Flood and Wind Damage with '24-Hour Situation Management'

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province announced on the 10th that it has designated the period from the 15th of this month to October 15th as the ‘Summer Natural Disaster Countermeasure Period’ and will engage in 24-hour situation management to prepare for wind and water disasters such as heavy rain and typhoons.

During the disaster countermeasure period, the province will maintain a 24-hour situation management system as usual, and upon weather alerts, will activate the Disaster Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, switching to a step-by-step emergency duty system with 13 cooperating departments.

On-site, 285 flood and wind disaster risk zones, including areas with concerns for human casualties, will be intensively managed, and the designation of disaster risk zones will be expanded considering risk areas under individual laws and last year’s disaster occurrence cases.

In particular, areas with concerns for human casualties will have multiple managers appointed, including on-site responsible officers (public officials) and managers (community leaders such as village chiefs, neighborhood chiefs, and voluntary disaster prevention groups), establishing a joint public-private inspection system. Additionally, 1,708 early warning and alert facilities across the province will be inspected and maintained simultaneously to ensure optimal operational status.

Furthermore, the local voluntary disaster prevention group organizations will be subdivided at the eup, myeon, and dong levels to reorganize them so they can serve as safety helpers in the event of a disaster, minimizing blind spots in disaster prevention.

Moreover, the province plans to establish an ICT-based automatic control system early before the rainy season at disaster-vulnerable facilities with high flood risk such as underground passages and riverside parking lots during heavy rain to prevent human and property damage.

The province currently has secured more than 100% of disaster relief supplies for emergency aid to disaster victims and has designated 1,781 evacuation facilities for disaster victims. It also maintains a constant emergency mobilization system for emergency recovery equipment, materials, and personnel in preparation for disaster occurrences.

Lee Jeong-gu, Director of the Disaster Safety Office of the province, said, “It is difficult to be completely free from natural disasters in the summer, but we will do our utmost in advance preparation to minimize human and property damage.”