Yeosu City Operates 'Disaster Situation Room' for Comprehensive Drought Response

Operation Scheduled from the 25th Until Drought Stage Resolution... Deputy Mayor to Lead Overall Command

General Situation Team Composed of Four Task Forces: Agriculture, Waterworks, Water Supply, and Water Resource Management

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon] Jeollanam-do Yeosu City (Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong) announced on the 25th that it will operate a 'Drought Countermeasure Disaster Situation Room' to minimize damage and coordinate overall response due to prolonged drought.

The operation period is from November 25 until the drought stage is resolved, with Park Hyun-sik, Vice Mayor of Yeosu City, serving as the overall situation room chief.

The city plans to focus administrative efforts on drought countermeasures and resolving water shortages by organizing the disaster situation room into a general situation team and four countermeasure teams in agriculture, water supply, and water resource supply sectors.

According to the city, the cumulative rainfall in Yeosu City so far this year is only 944.5 mm, about 67% compared to last year's rainfall of 1,416.5 mm.

The average reservoir storage rate of 66 reservoirs in the area is about 82.5%. Although there has been no crop damage due to water shortage yet, if the drought continues long-term, there is concern about drinking water problems due to insufficient local water supply.

Accordingly, the city has started a campaign encouraging all citizens to participate in '20% Water Saving in Daily Life.'

On the 22nd, a water-saving campaign was conducted around Seosijang in Seogyo-dong, and the city plans to expand promotional campaigns to raise awareness of the seriousness of the drought, focusing on eup, myeon, dong (township and neighborhood) offices and self-governing organizations.

Practical water-saving measures to overcome drought include ▲doing laundry in batches ▲adjusting faucets ▲reducing shower time ▲using a cup for brushing teeth ▲collecting water for dishwashing.

Reducing daily water usage by 20% can save about 0.5 billion tons of water, enough for approximately 800,000 people to use for one year.

Choi Young-cheol, head of the Disaster Safety Division of Yeosu City, said, “By operating the comprehensive drought countermeasure situation room, we will minimize citizens’ damage and respond comprehensively to water shortages. We hope citizens actively participate in the ‘20% Water Saving in Daily Life’ campaign to overcome the prolonged drought crisis.”

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon hss79@asiae.co.kr