"\"Directly from the Korea Meteorological Administration...\", Text Message 20 Minutes Before the Deluge"

KMA Announces '2023 Major Work Plan'
Advance Warning of Black Ice and Foggy Roads Available

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] From June, disaster alerts will be sent at least 20 minutes before a 'water bomb' downpour occurs. On the 1st, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced its '2023 Major Work Plan' at its Seoul headquarters. The key initiatives presented by the KMA are ▲direct sending of disaster alerts ▲additional strong wind information ▲detailed snowfall information ▲delivery of road black ice and fog hazard weather information ▲establishment of export foundations.

In this regard, the KMA announced that it will pilot a system to send urgent weather information directly, which had previously been sent through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Starting in June, if 'extreme heavy rain' is expected?defined as 50mm or more per hour or 90mm or more over three hours?in the Seoul metropolitan area, disaster alerts will be sent directly to residents in risk areas without going through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or local governments.

Last August, unusual heavy rains occurred repeatedly, such as 141.5mm per hour in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. It was judged that rapid information notification is necessary to reduce damage from heavy rain. The '20 minutes' timeframe is based on an analysis of the semi-basement flood tragedy involving a disabled family in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, during the concentrated heavy rain last August.

Additionally, a warning service will start before entering highways where black ice or fog is expected, through navigation apps. The navigation app will display hazard information in three stages: 'interest,' 'caution,' and 'danger.' From July, fog-related hazard weather information services will also be added. The navigation service for road black ice and fog hazard information is planned to expand to the Seohaean Expressway by December.

Furthermore, the KMA will provide information on wet snow and dry snow in addition to snowfall amounts. Wet snow, which contains a lot of moisture, weighs more than typical dry snow. One of the causes of winter greenhouse collapses is wet snow.