"500mm Rainfall in Gunsan with No Casualties... Importance of Local Government Leaders' Roles"

Professor Jeong Chang-sam, MBC Radio Interview
"Foreseen Disaster, Should Have Been Thoroughly Prepared For"

Professor Jeong Chang-sam of the Department of Smart Construction and Disaster Prevention at Induk University emphasized on the 17th, "Damage caused by natural disasters may be inevitable depending on the financial situation and manpower of local governments, but casualties are a different matter," adding, "The most important role of local government heads is to protect the lives and property of citizens."

On the same day, Professor Jeong appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and referred to the case of Gunsan City in Jeonbuk, stating, "Despite heavy rainfall, there were no casualties, which seems to be because the local government head actively carried out disaster prevention administration," and urged, "Please take a more proactive role in protecting citizens' lives and property."

From the 13th to the 15th, Gunsan City experienced an average rainfall of 498.3 mm, the highest ever recorded since weather observations began, but no casualties occurred.

On the morning of the 16th, Beolbang-ri village in Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, is waiting for restoration after being devastated by a landslide. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, in regions such as Yeongju City and Yecheon County in Gyeongbuk, landslides caused by heavy rain resulted in casualties in some areas. Regarding this, Professor Jeong pointed out that the disaster caused by landslides was a foreseeable situation, but local governments were inadequately prepared.

Professor Jeong explained, "When the landslide occurred at Umyeonsan in Seocho-gu, Seoul in 2011, 76 people died, and the rainfall at that time was only about 300 mm," adding, "But now, in some places, the cumulative rainfall over three days reached 900 mm, with an average of 600 mm."

He continued, "Moreover, a more dangerous factor is that heavy rain had already been falling continuously three days prior, so many areas already had soil moisture levels close to 100%, making landslides somewhat of a natural phenomenon," and noted, "Since the disaster was fully predictable, evacuation should have been strongly enforced, but those aspects seemed to be lacking."

Professor Jeong stated, "About 70% of our country's land is surrounded by mountains, so it is very extensive, but local governments have already surveyed and are aware of potentially dangerous areas," and expressed regret, saying, "In such areas, instead of just recommending evacuation, evacuation orders should have been issued to strongly enforce administrative measures for residents."