Ministry of the Interior and Safety Provides 15.5 Billion KRW in Special Grants for Drought and AI Response

100 Billion Won for Drought, 5.5 Billion Won for AI

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 6th that it will urgently provide 15.5 billion KRW in disaster safety special grants to the relevant local governments to prevent the ongoing drought since last year and highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) this spring.

First, due to concerns about drought damage such as low dam and reservoir water levels caused by the drought that has persisted in the southern regions since last year, 10 billion KRW in special drought countermeasure grants will be urgently provided to the Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongnam areas to secure water for daily life and agriculture.

The special grants to be distributed this time will be used for practical and direct drought countermeasures, including securing alternative water sources such as water supply transport in island areas and seawater desalination, developing groundwater wells in Jeonnam and Jeonbuk regions, and installing transfer pipelines to secure agricultural water.

Next, as a larger number of migratory birds than usual move from Busan and Gyeongnam to the central northern regions, 5.468 billion KRW in special grants will be urgently provided as quarantine countermeasure funds to 13 cities and provinces including Gyeonggi to prevent the nationwide spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Along with this, due to the extension of the special avian influenza quarantine period, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will also extend the operation of the existing 'Avian Influenza Countermeasure Support Headquarters' until the end of this month.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, requested, “Please do your best to implement countermeasures through the prompt execution of the special grants provided to minimize damage caused by spring disasters such as drought and livestock infectious diseases,” and stated, “The government will also cooperate with local governments to respond with full force so that public inconvenience from various disasters can be minimized.”