Jin-tae Kim, Governor of Gangwon, Orders Urgent Measures, Saying "All Areas of Gangwon Should Be Included in the 'Special Disaster Zone'"

2 Deaths and 2 Missing in Gangwon-do
262 Public Facility Damages and 63 Private Facility Damages
Focus on Preparing Countermeasures for Subsequent Heavy Rain

Governor Kim Jin-tae of Gangwon Province visits the Uiam Dam site in Chuncheon [Gangwon Province]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province ended the disaster response headquarters as of 2 p.m. on the 11th, when all heavy rain warnings in the province were lifted, and took emergency measures for areas damaged by the heavy rain.

According to the province on the 12th, the heavy rain that began on the 8th caused significant damage in Gangwon, resulting in 2 deaths and 2 missing persons.

Among the disaster victims, 6 people from 3 households were affected, and of the 70 people from 45 households who had temporarily evacuated, 49 people (64%) have returned home.

As of the 12th, damage to public facilities was recorded as a total of 262 cases, including 47 roads, 41 bridges, 16 rivers, and 64 water management facilities. The scale of damage is expected to increase based on future investigation results.

In addition, damage to private facilities was recorded as a total of 63 cases, including 2 houses damaged, 17 houses flooded, 233.5 hectares of crops, and 3,299 square meters of livestock facilities and beehives.

The province plans to continue strengthening surveillance activities in 722 locations at risk of landslides and human casualties, as well as disaster-prone areas such as campsites.

On the 11th, Governor Kim Jin-tae personally visited Hwasangdaeri in Hongcheon-gun, where the entire village was isolated, and instructed the provincial disaster safety director to "prepare fundamental measures to prevent recurrence of the same damage along with prompt emergency restoration."

Earlier, on the 10th, at the Uiam Dam discharge site, he urged "close cooperation with related organizations to prevent damage in downstream areas due to dam discharge."

He also instructed that a proposal letter be promptly submitted to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Ministry of the Interior and Safety) under the name of the provincial disaster safety countermeasures headquarters chief to declare the entire province a special disaster area.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to secure government support for damage recovery and prepare countermeasures for additional expected subsequent heavy rains.

As damage investigations intensify, the province plans to review whether the damage scale by city and county exceeds the government's minimum support criteria (2.4 to 3 billion KRW for Gangwon Province) to reduce the burden on local governments.

Additionally, following the Korea Meteorological Administration's forecast that rain cloud bands will re-enter the Gangwon area, efforts will focus on preventing secondary damage in flood-affected areas within the province where the ground has been weakened by the heavy rain.

Park Dong-joo, director of the provincial disaster safety office, stated, "I have instructed each city and county to conduct thorough investigations to ensure no one is excluded from government support due to omission in damage surveys," adding, "We will make sure the area is included as a special disaster zone to secure broad government support."

He also urged, "Since the upcoming subsequent heavy rains could be more dangerous, please pay close attention to various disaster broadcasts and take special care for your safety."