Chungnam Accelerates 'Emergency Restoration' in Areas Affected by Heavy Rainfall

Chungnam Province is accelerating emergency recovery efforts in areas affected by heavy rainfall within the region.

According to Chungnam Province on the 20th, the cumulative rainfall in the Chungnam area from the 13th to the 18th averaged 393.5mm. During this period, Buyeo recorded the highest cumulative rainfall in Chungnam with 564.0mm, followed by Gongju with 504.0mm, Nonsan with 487.6mm, and Cheongyang with 540.0mm.

On the 15th, Manharu inside Gongsanseong Fortress in Gongju-si, Chungnam, was submerged due to heavy rain. Photo by Yonhap News

As of 6 a.m. the previous day, preliminary investigations estimated the damage caused by the heavy rainfall at a total of 610 cases amounting to 37.1 billion KRW. There were 4 fatalities and 2 injuries reported. A total of 3,105 residents from 1,997 households temporarily evacuated to avoid the heavy rain, of whom 699 people from 482 households are currently living in temporary shelters.

As damage increased due to the heavy rainfall in the region, Chungnam Province requested the government to declare special disaster zones in four cities/counties: Gongju, Nonsan, Buyeo, and Cheongyang. The government declared these areas as special disaster zones the day before.

A special disaster zone is declared by the President to support recovery in areas severely affected by major accidents or natural disasters. According to Chungnam Province, areas declared as special disaster zones receive expanded national funding support for damage recovery, which reduces the local government’s financial burden.

For example, in the case of houses, compensation ranges from 20 million to 36 million KRW for total destruction depending on the area, 10 million to 18 million KRW for partial destruction, and 3 million KRW for flooding damage. Up to 80% of tenants’ security deposits and rent, up to 6 million KRW, are covered by national funds.

Public facility restoration costs can be supported at around 70%, and national funding support for farmland restoration and repair of damaged agricultural and forestry facilities will also be expanded.

This provides the basis for Chungnam Province to speed up emergency recovery in areas affected by the heavy rainfall.

In addition, Chungnam Province has secured 3.8 billion KRW in emergency recovery funds, including 1.9 billion KRW from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s special disaster safety grant and 1.9 billion KRW from the Chungnam Province disaster management fund.

The emergency recovery funds are allocated as 2.8 billion KRW to the four cities/counties declared as special disaster zones?Gongju, Nonsan, Buyeo, and Cheongyang?and 1 billion KRW to nine other cities/counties including Cheonan, Boryeong, and Seocheon. These funds will be used for damage recovery, prevention of secondary damage, mobilization of personnel, equipment, and supplies, debris removal, and relief for disaster victims.

Chungnam Province plans to monitor major dam discharge volumes and weather conditions and maintain a 24-hour situation management and response system.

It also plans to mobilize private equipment and military forces for safety measures and emergency recovery to prevent additional damage.

Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungnam Province, stated, “We will concentrate all administrative power of Chungnam Province to ensure that emergency recovery proceeds swiftly and do our best to help residents return to their daily lives as quickly as possible.”