Jongno-gu Operates 24-Hour Disaster Safety Headquarters to Prepare for Summer Flood and Wind Damage

Completed Joint Preliminary Inspection with Flood Control Facility and Disaster Vulnerable Facility Experts; Confirmed Equipment Operation and Completed Maintenance

Dredging of Sewers and Rainwater Inlets Including Gwanghwamun Area and Tongin Market; Implementation of Accompanying Partners and Flood Forecast and Warning System

Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jeong Munheon) has been operating the "Flood and Wind Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters" 24 hours a day for five months from the 15th of last month until October 15.

The focus is on protecting residents' lives and property from various natural disasters such as typhoons and floods during the summer season and minimizing damage.

The Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is composed of 13 task forces and flood control teams at 17 community service centers to establish a rapid and systematic response system. Emergency duty is carried out in stages according to weather conditions: normal, reinforcement, and levels 1 to 3.

Before activating the headquarters, the district conducted a joint preliminary inspection with external experts on a total of 212 locations, including flood control facilities and disaster vulnerable facilities in the area, and supplemented any deficiencies. A detailed inspection and maintenance, including checking the operation of flood control equipment such as 192 submersible pumps, 14 emergency generators, 5 water level monitoring systems, and 4 automatic alarm devices, have also been completed.

By the end of this month, dredging work on sewers and rainwater inlets will be completed to thoroughly prepare for flood damage. The target areas include the Gwanghwamun area, Tongin Market, Jonggak Station, Nakwon Arcade, Insadong, Cheonggyecheon, and other key management and intensive cleaning areas.

Additionally, starting this year, a flood forecast and warning system will be implemented to proactively inform residents if flooding is expected due to abnormal heavy rain. When a flood forecast or warning is issued, care officials and community leaders become ‘Accompanying Partners’ to evacuate disaster-vulnerable residents living in semi-basements and prevent casualties. Accompanying Partners continuously share related situations in group chat rooms.

Jongno-gu also conducted flood and wind disaster education and flood preparedness drills on the 4th and 10th of this month for disaster response personnel, related agencies, and construction officials to enable active response during disaster situations.

The education was centered on damage cases to help employees understand, and the drill was conducted at Hongjecheon Riverside Park by simulating a hypothetical weather scenario with heavy rain accompanying the northward approach of Typhoon ‘Rusa,’ which caused significant damage in 2002.

District Mayor Jeong Munheon stated, “We have prepared thoroughly by inspecting facilities and flood control equipment,” and added, “We hope residents also familiarize themselves with flood and wind disaster action guidelines in advance and prepare for any unforeseen situations.”