Dongjak-gu Partners with LH, SH, and Redevelopment Associations to Provide Temporary Housing for Disaster Victims

[Seoul District News] Dongjak-gu Signs Emergency Housing Support Agreement with LH on 22nd, Secures 53 Public Rental Units... Gwanak-gu Launches Intensive Flood Waste Collection, Mobilizing Public-Private Personnel and Equipment... Foreign Volunteers Support Flood Recovery in Geumcheon-gu

Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak District (left), signed a business agreement with LH officials on the 22nd at Dongjak District Office to provide emergency housing support for flood victims caused by heavy rain.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Park Il-ha) is making every effort to secure temporary housing facilities for disaster victims affected by the heavy rain.

The district is continuously securing temporary housing facilities by surveying available public and private facilities to minimize the inconvenience of disaster victims in preparation for a resurgence of COVID-19.

First, on the 22nd, the district office signed a business agreement with LH to provide emergency housing support for flood victims, securing a total of 53 public rental housing units (7 within the district, 46 outside the district).

According to the agreement, the district will lease LH public rental housing for up to two years and provide it to disaster victims during the relief period. The deposit is waived, and the monthly rent is reduced by 50%.

The district will cover the rent, and later select tenants and determine the length of stay based on the needs of the disaster victims.

On the same day, LH also donated funds for flood recovery in Dongjak-gu.

Additionally, the district secured 24 public rental housing units through consultations with SH, and on the 22nd, four households (8 people) completed moving in.

The district is actively persuading private facilities as well as the emergency public rental housing provided by LH and SH to secure additional temporary housing for disaster victims.

Recently, through negotiations with Sangdo Stadium Regional Housing Association, 90 vacant units in the ‘Dream Castle Tower’ located within the development zone were secured.

As of the 22nd, 64 households (102 people) are temporarily residing in Dream Castle Tower, and they can use the facility until their original residences are fully restored.

Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, said, “We hope that the provision of these temporary housing facilities will alleviate some of the residents’ inconveniences,” and added, “We will do our best to secure temporary housing facilities for the swift housing stabilization of disaster victims.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is making every effort to handle flood waste caused by the heavy rain and help residents quickly return to their daily lives.

On the 8th, record-breaking heavy rain caused flooding damage throughout Gwanak-gu, including Sinsa and Jowon-dong, resulting in piles of waste scattered throughout the alleys.

The district immediately established an emergency plan and began intensive collection of flood waste. All available personnel, including environmental officers, military personnel, public officials, and volunteers, were mobilized, and heavy equipment such as trucks and excavators were rented from the private sector for focused collection efforts.

As a result of intensive collection throughout Gwanak-gu, including the heavily affected areas of Sinsa and Jowon-dong as well as Euncheon, Sillim, Miseong, and Samsung-dong, the amount of flood waste collected reached 3,906 tons as of August 22, with 4,840 personnel deployed.

A district official said, “Flood waste, if left unattended for a long time, causes foul odors, damages the surrounding landscape, and poses a risk of infectious diseases, so prompt disposal is necessary.”

The district also collected additional waste such as soil not removed from flooded underground households and cleaned the dirty roads where vehicle access was difficult.

Furthermore, the number of waste transport vehicles was increased to maximize delivery to the metropolitan landfill.

Other autonomous districts in Seoul also lent a hand. Gangbuk, Eunpyeong, Seongbuk, Dobong, and Jongno districts supported the collection of flood waste in the heavily affected Sinsa and Jowon-dong areas by providing environmental officers, collection vehicles, and equipment such as arm roll trucks, facilitating rapid collection.

Through intensive short-term collection efforts, the district has collected over 99% of the flood waste generated and plans to promptly handle any additional small-scale waste to minimize residents’ inconvenience.

In particular, Mayor Park Jun-hee visited flooded houses throughout Sinsa and Jowon-dong to support waste disposal, cleaning of flooded households and appliances, and other recovery efforts, personally monitoring the ongoing damage situation. (Photo)

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “By promptly disposing of flood waste that could cause secondary damage to local residents, we have done our best to help residents return to their daily lives as soon as possible and minimize inconvenience,” and expressed gratitude, saying, “Especially during these difficult times, the support from Seoul city and autonomous district employees, military personnel, police, and volunteers has been a great help.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that volunteers continue to visit areas and facilities damaged by the record-breaking heavy rain.

On the morning of August 21 at 10 a.m., 27 foreign students and workers (from Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar), members of the Global Multicultural Federation, carried out flood recovery work such as cleaning damaged grass and removing soil at the Geumcheon Han-nae Park Golf Course site.

Park Young-oh, President of the Geumcheon Park Golf Association, expressed gratitude, saying, “Young foreign volunteers came from far away without minding the heat and worked hard, which greatly helped the flood recovery of the park golf course.”

The Global Multicultural Federation (Chairman Jang Du-eok), which organized this volunteer activity, is an organization that actively promotes job creation support projects and sharing activities in culture, arts, and sports to help multicultural members with diverse cultural backgrounds residing in Korea settle stably and achieve economic independence.

Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I thank the volunteers participating in the flood recovery activities,” and added, “We will do our best to support recovery so that residents suffering great difficulties from this unexpected disaster can return to their daily lives as soon as possible.”