[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu Daerim-dong and Singil 3-dong Donation Ceremony Held & Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, Daerim-dong Saemaeul Geumgo and Others Continue Donations for Flood Victims ... Yeongdeungpo-gu Focuses on Rapid Disaster Relief Fund Distribution with On-site Surveys ... Gwanak-gu Flood Damage in Sillim-dong Receives Support from Companies, Related Organizations, and Volunteers ... Guro-gu Continues Flood Recovery Efforts Across Affected Areas ... Songpa-gu Donates Bedding Worth Approximately 90 Million KRW to Vulnerable Groups
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) is receiving a warm wave of donations for residents affected by flooding, bringing heartfelt inspiration to the local community.
On the 8th and 9th, record-breaking heavy rain centered around Seoul poured down, with Yeongdeungpo experiencing an intense 395mm downpour, the strongest in about 100 years. With concentrated rainfall exceeding 110mm per hour, roads were submerged, and houses and vehicles were flooded, causing continuous damage in flood-prone areas.
However, warm helping hands have been extended throughout Yeongdeungpo to help residents affected by flooding quickly restore their daily lives. In particular, a series of sharing efforts have been made for the victims concentrated in the Sin-gil-dong and Daerim-dong areas.
Daerim-dong Saemaeul Geumgo donated 30 million KRW for residents affected by flooding in Daerim 1, 2, and 3-dong, and Hangyeol Saemaeul Geumgo in Sin-gil 3-dong delivered 215 boxes of cup noodles to be used for disaster recovery and relief activities.
Additionally, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts donated 400 circulators, Woori Bank provided 498 lunch boxes, Namseoul Environment donated 133 blankets, and Seoul Metropolitan Food Bank, Koscom, and Gwanak Nonghyup contributed food and water worth 22.5 million KRW, creating a donation relay across the community to comfort residents exhausted by the flood damage.
Furthermore, from August 8 to 11, neighboring Gangseo-gu supported with 43 water pumps and nine 2.5-ton garbage collection vehicles to aid in overcoming the damage. A total of 3,321 public officials, about 1,200 volunteers, 977 military personnel, and 175 private company workers have united with one heart and mind to focus all efforts on flood damage recovery and emergency response.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “Thanks to everyone, the fatigue disappears and great strength arises,” adding, “I felt the true neighborly affection that helps wholeheartedly in difficult times.”
The district plans to do its utmost for rapid recovery and minimizing damage so that affected residents can return to their daily lives as soon as possible, thoroughly preparing to prevent further damage.
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) is making every effort to help residents affected by the heavy rain quickly recover their daily lives.
According to the district, on the 8th and 9th, over 110mm of rain per hour fell in Yeongdeungpo-gu, causing significant damage in Daerim-dong, Sin-gil-dong, and Mullae-dong areas.
Accordingly, to stabilize the lives of residents facing difficulties due to flooding, the district promptly began accepting damage reports through each neighborhood community center starting from the day after the damage occurred, the 9th, to ensure swift payment of support funds under the ‘Disaster and Safety Management Basic Act.’ As a result, more than approximately 5,300 reports, including those for houses and commercial buildings, have been received so far.
From the 13th, on-site investigations of damaged households based on the received reports have also begun in earnest. All department employees, except essential personnel and those already responding on-site, have been deployed to visit each household directly to check the damage situation carefully, ensuring no damage is overlooked and emergency measures have been taken.
Along with this, the district requested urgent assistance from Seoul City to speed up the investigation, as there were limitations in manpower despite concentrating all administrative power on damage recovery and support.
Seoul City immediately supported with 130 personnel, including trainee officials. After receiving training for rapid and accurate investigation, they conducted a focused survey over two days, the 16th and 17th, targeting 1,771 damaged households in Daerim 2-dong.
Once the on-site damage verification is completed, the district plans to input the results into the Disaster Management System (NDMS) to receive city and national funds for disaster support payments and ensure residents receive compensation as soon as possible.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “We are focusing all capabilities on damage recovery and support so that residents can return to their daily lives quickly,” adding, “We will also strengthen safety management in vulnerable areas to prevent additional damage.”
Following the record-breaking heavy rain that struck the Seoul metropolitan area on the 8th, Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is receiving continuous warm support to share the pain with flood victims in the Sillim-dong area, which suffered the worst flooding.
Jeonbuk Gimje City, a sister city of Gwanak-gu, donated 1 million KRW in cash and in-kind goods worth about 21 million KRW, including 300 bags of Jipyeongseon rice, 700 boxes of scorched rice, and 15,000 masks, to help flood victims facing difficulties.
Since the 11th, home appliance companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Winia & Winia Aid, and Kiturami Boiler have set up a joint repair booth at Nambu Elementary School in Sinsa-dong to provide free repairs for flooded home appliances.
Food and distribution industries are also leading support efforts by donating daily necessities, food, and relief supplies. Seven Eleven delivered 100 boxes of food packages including ion drinks, cup noodles, and chocolate bars; Samdasoo provided 13,400 bottles of water; and Powerful X donated 2,100 disinfectant gels and 60,000 masks.
The National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Red Cross supported with laundry vehicles for washing and drying blankets and clothes damaged by flooding and mobile shower vehicles equipped with shower facilities.
In particular, citizen groups have been actively involved in flood recovery. Including neighborhood community leaders, professional organization members, and volunteers who participated voluntarily, about 1,600 people have contributed to flood recovery activities as of the 17th.
Mayor Park Jun-hee expressed gratitude, saying, “Thanks to everyone who has given warm help during difficult times, we are gaining great strength,” and added, “The donated goods and funds will be used to support flood recovery and help victims who lost their homes.”
The district has established an integrated support system for the heavy rain disaster and is mobilizing all manpower and equipment in a public-private joint effort to fully focus on flood recovery.
As of the 17th, a cumulative total of about 7,000 personnel have been supporting, including about 2,800 Seoul city and district office employees, about 3,070 military personnel, and about 1,300 private volunteers.
Meanwhile, at the 171st Seoul City Mayors’ Council held on the 17th, Mayor Park proposed to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to raise the current recovery fund from 2 million KRW to 4 million KRW for rapid daily life recovery and practical damage restoration, and requested Seoul City to provide additional matching funds between the city and autonomous districts beyond the current recovery funds.
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “It is very unfortunate that many damages such as road and house flooding occurred due to the record-breaking heavy rain. The district will promptly recover the damage and concentrate all administrative power to ensure residents can return to safe daily lives.”
Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) is making every effort to recover from the damage caused by the heavy rain together with volunteers.
On the 18th, Guro-gu announced, “We are conducting emergency recovery by mobilizing all manpower and equipment targeting areas and facilities damaged by the heavy rain on the 8th.”
Until the 17th, about 1,000 people, including members of related organizations such as neighborhood community leaders, volunteer camps, community security councils, volunteer cooperation groups, Korean Red Cross volunteer society, Saemaeul leaders’ council, residents’ autonomy committees, and volunteer fire brigades, as well as executives and employees of the Korea Employment Service Association and Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, and voluntarily participating residents, have contributed to recovery work in the district.
The district investigates the demand for sites and manpower requiring recovery through neighborhood community centers and then assigns volunteers recruited from the ‘1365 Volunteer Portal’ and groups that individually applied for volunteer activities.
Before going to the assigned sites, volunteers receive guidance on volunteer activities and safety education, continuously supporting volunteer activities after the flooding.
Volunteer activities can be applied for through announcements on the ‘1365 Volunteer Portal’ or by contacting the volunteer center by phone.
Previously, from the 10th to the 13th, about 650 military personnel visited flooded areas by neighborhood and Anyangcheon to assist with soil removal, furniture and household item organization, and waste disposal.
On the 11th, Mayor Moon Heon-il, Israeli Ambassador to Korea Tor Akiba, 25 embassy staff, and others visited five flooded households in Gaebong-dong to remove flood debris and clean floors and walls, mobilizing all administrative power for rapid flood damage recovery.
A Guro-gu official said, “We will do our best to provide prompt recovery support so that residents suffering from sudden flood damage can return to their daily lives as soon as possible,” and added, “We thank the frontline workers who are striving to support recovery.”
Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) recently received bedding donations worth about 90 million KRW from Global Share, a non-profit organization, and delivered them to vulnerable groups struggling with consecutive heatwaves and rising electricity bills.
Global Share is an international relief and development NGO that practices sharing activities based on a systematic system to help marginalized neighbors worldwide suffering from poverty, disease, and disasters. This bedding donation was made possible through sponsorship from J&U Co., Ltd., which gained great popularity with the ‘Gijeol Pillow.’
Songpa Senior Welfare Center and Songpa Silbeot Deurak directly delivered the donated items, including pillows, blankets, and toppers, to about 500 households in need.
A Global Share representative said, “We hope marginalized neighbors exhausted by the continuous heatwaves can spend the summer safely and coolly,” adding, “We will continue to practice sharing to help vulnerable groups in the local community.”
Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you for the sharing hands extended to vulnerable groups struggling through the hot summer heat,” and added, “This will be a great help for the healthy summer of elderly people exhausted by the heat.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
