Cultural Heritage Administration Conducts Special Inspection for National Heritage Flood and Wind Damage Prevention

'Promotion of the "Vulnerable Area National Heritage Protection Project"'

On the 18th, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that it designates departments for safety inspections before the rainy season, heavy rains, and typhoon occurrences to prevent flood and wind damage to national heritage sites.

In the past, disaster types affecting national heritage were mainly wildfires and fires. Recently, due to climate change, heavy rains and typhoons have frequently occurred, increasing flood and wind damage. In particular, there were as many as 148 cases in 2022.

The "Special Safety Inspection for Flood and Wind Damage Prevention" period is from May to June. The Cultural Heritage Administration diagnoses safety using an inspection checklist developed last year through research on flood and wind damage prevention strategies by national heritage type. The checklist consists of two types: common and customized. The former focuses on damages occurring across all types of national heritage, while the latter emphasizes characteristic damages in four types with frequent flood and wind damage (wooden structures, stone structures, natural heritage, and tombs/mounds). A Cultural Heritage Administration official stated, "We plan to eliminate risk factors in advance through customized safety inspections."

The Cultural Heritage Administration is also promoting the "Vulnerable Area National Heritage Protection Project (Phase 1)" until 2028 to proactively protect national heritage vulnerable to climate change. By next year, about 360 national heritage sites in vulnerable areas will be surveyed, and appropriate preservation and management plans will be developed. A Cultural Heritage Administration official explained, "Next year, we will select ten national heritage sites requiring urgent measures to implement disaster prevention pilot projects, and from 2026 to 2028, we plan to carry out disaster prevention projects for about sixty national heritage sites, including protective installations, erosion control projects, drainage system improvements, and firebreak construction." He added, "We will review whether to continue the project based on the results and achievements."