Governor Lee Cheol-woo: "Annual Average Monsoon Rainfall Tripled, New Response Needed"
Representative Yoon Jae-ok: "Mobilizing All Administrative Forces of National Assembly, Government, and Local Governments for Support"
On the afternoon of the 16th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, and the party delegation visited Yecheon area in Gyeongbuk, which suffered significant damage from heavy rainfall exceeding 240mm from the 13th to the 15th.
On that day, the delegation first received a briefing on the flood damage situation at the Disaster and Safety Situation Room of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government and discussed support measures for the victims and affected areas.
Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party (second from the left), and Lee Cheol-woo, governor of Gyeongbuk Province (third from the left), are visiting the Yecheon area to inspect the flood damage site.
Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said at the meeting, “There has been no such type of landslide recently, and much damage occurred in areas not managed as landslide risk zones,” adding, “We need to establish new response measures.”
The average annual rainfall during the monsoon season in the Gyeongbuk region is about 292mm, but over the past month, more than 800mm of rain poured in the northern part of Gyeongbuk.
He also stated, “On the 15th, an evacuation order was issued, and about 3,000 people?the largest number ever?evacuated overnight, with significant assistance from the police and military.”
Floor leader Yoon Jae-ok expressed, “I offer my condolences to the residents of Gyeongbuk who suffered many casualties due to the unexpected heavy rain,” and said, “I fully agree with the idea that we must change the standards for disaster response in the era of climate change and respond in new ways.”
He added, “The President also urged active response and will take immediate action upon returning to the country,” emphasizing, “The National Assembly and government will cooperate with local governments to ensure thorough damage recovery and prevention.”
Following this, Governor Lee Cheol-woo and the delegation visited the community center in Beolbang-ri, Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon, which is being used as a temporary evacuation shelter by village residents.
There, they comforted the victims and promised to strengthen efforts for prompt damage recovery and search for missing persons at both the National Assembly and local government levels.
In Beolbang-ri, about ten houses were destroyed or damaged due to the landslide, and two villagers are missing after being buried under the fallen soil, with search operations ongoing.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo had issued an evacuation order on the evening of the 15th around 9 p.m. for residents living in disaster-prone areas within the province, including landslide risk zones, habitual flood areas, coastal lowlands, river estuaries, and remote mountainous regions, due to the expected severe damage from the heavy rain.
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