Jeonnam Province Launches Full-Scale Response to Landslides During Monsoon Season

Jeonnam Province announced on the 27th that it will make every effort to prepare for and respond to landslides, including on-site inspections of landslide-prone areas within the province, as the full-scale rainy season begins.

The province has established a ‘Jeonnam-style proactive resident evacuation’ system aiming for zero casualties. Upon receiving landslide prediction information, a situation assessment meeting is held to determine the evacuation targets and timing, and proactive resident evacuation is conducted before sunset.

For swift and safe evacuation, public officials in eup, myeon, and dong are assigned to specific villages, while the police, fire department, village chiefs, and youth associations serve as evacuation assistants.

Additionally, starting this year, all evacuees from any disaster receive a ‘Disaster Safety Kit’ to help alleviate anxiety and inconvenience caused by evacuation.

Since February, inspections have been conducted on 3,827 sites at risk of landslide damage, including 2,281 landslide-prone locations.

On-site measures were taken at 615 locations, and facility reinforcements were carried out at 70 locations.

Furthermore, emergency contact networks for 6,487 households (8,929 people) have been organized, and signboards and banners have been installed at all sites to clearly indicate landslide-prone areas and shelters.

Jeonnam Province and its 22 cities and counties plan to operate a landslide countermeasure situation room until October 15, the end of the summer natural disaster period, to focus on pre-monitoring vulnerable areas, disseminating information during heavy rain and typhoons, proactive resident evacuation, and damage recovery.

Earlier, on the 26th, Myung Chang-hwan, Vice Governor of Jeonnam Province, visited Deoksan Village in Dogok-myeon, Hwasun County, to inspect the pre-disaster preparedness for landslides. He checked the status of additional erosion in the valley area, drainage conditions, and the management of erosion control facilities and shelters.

Deoksan Village, the site of the inspection, is a landslide-prone area where erosion around the village’s surrounding valleys has progressed, raising the risk of debris flow. In 2023, one erosion control dam was installed and valley maintenance was carried out.

Vice Governor Myung Chang-hwan stated, “This year as well, unpredictable localized heavy rains frequently occur due to abnormal climate, so disaster preparedness must become a routine part of life,” adding, “We will do our best to protect the lives and safety of residents from landslides through proactive resident evacuation.”