Pohang City Makes Every Effort to Minimize Citizen Inconvenience During Overnight Snow Removal Operations

40 Snow Removal Vehicles Including Main City Streets, 27 Tons of Deicing Agent Deployed for Snow Removal Operations

City Employees Working Half Shifts... Fire Station, Police Station, and Related Agencies Coordinated Response System

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City is mobilizing all available personnel and equipment to swiftly carry out snow removal operations in order to prevent safety accidents and minimize inconvenience to citizens following the issuance of a heavy snow warning on the 14th.

According to the Pohang City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, before the heavy snow warning was issued, the city proactively requested cooperation from related organizations to thoroughly prepare in order to minimize citizen inconvenience, and established an organic response system with related agencies such as the fire station, police station, and Korea Electric Power Corporation.

Immediately after the heavy snow warning was issued, half of all employees were put on emergency duty, and 40 pieces of equipment including cleaning snow removal vehicles, excavators, dump trucks, and skid loaders, along with 27 tons of snow removal agents, were deployed to carry out snow removal operations focusing on major roads in Pohang city, bus routes, mountainous areas, and mountain passes.

Snowplow operation site.

Additionally, to prevent traffic and fall accidents caused by the snow that fell overnight on the 15th, disaster text messages were sent out actively informing citizens about the weather conditions and heavy snow response guidelines.

Furthermore, to minimize inconvenience for citizens on their morning commute, snow removal efforts were concentrated on alleys and slopes with heavy pedestrian traffic in each responsible district.

Due to traffic accidents on snowy roads, some areas experienced morning commute congestion, resulting in the closure of sections such as Local Route 68 (Cheongha to Sangok) for 7.6 km, Doosan We’ve to Changposa Intersection, Uhyun Intersection to Heunghae direction, and Yanghak Elementary School to E-Mart direction. However, as of 2 p.m. on the 15th, all closed sections have been reopened and traffic is flowing smoothly.

Mayor Kangdeok Lee ordered the full mobilization of snow removal equipment and personnel on major arterial roads and side streets to minimize traffic inconvenience and to promptly carry out snow removal operations to prevent accidents on icy roads due to dropping temperatures.

The mayor stated, “We will closely monitor weather conditions and concentrate administrative efforts to minimize citizen damage caused by natural disasters. We also ask all citizens to pay special attention to safety accidents such as traffic and pedestrian safety and facility damage, and to actively cooperate by clearing snow in front of their homes.”

In Pohang City, a heavy snow warning was issued at 9:30 p.m. on the 14th, and as of 2 p.m. on the 15th, the city recorded 1 cm of snowfall in the city center and 1.6 cm in Cheongha. Snowfall is expected to reach 3 to 5 cm by the afternoon. Pohang City plans to monitor weather conditions in real time and respond swiftly to emergencies to minimize citizen inconvenience caused by the heavy snow.