All Residents Voluntarily Return Home
Support Provided to 306 People from 187 Households
Gwangsan District in Gwangju has closed the operation of its second temporary evacuation shelter, as all residents who had taken refuge there due to the Kumho Tire Gwangju Plant fire voluntarily returned home on the 27th.
A resident who was the last to remain at the second temporary evacuation shelter for the Kumho Tire fire left the shelter on the 27th, shaking hands with the Gwangsan District public officials who had been guarding the shelter. Photo by Gwangsan District
According to the district, the last remaining resident at the second temporary evacuation shelter, which had been set up on the fourth floor of the Hanam Danuri Sports Center, returned home in the afternoon on the same day, and all tents were dismantled. The shelter had been in operation for eight days, having opened on the 20th.
Immediately after the fire, as a preemptive measure to ensure residents' safety, the district established the first temporary shelter at the Gwangju Women's University gymnasium from the 17th to the 19th. As smoke and odor damage worsened, a second shelter was operated starting on the 20th.
During the operation of the shelters, around 300 Gwangsan District public officials remained on site, providing support for meals, medical care, and quarantine. They also secured tents and relief supplies and worked to persuade residents, continuing their on-site response efforts.
Support from the community continued as well. Buk-gu provided masks, a restaurant in Songjeong 1-dong supplied rice balls, Wolgok 2-dong social organizations provided bread and soy milk, and the Hanam-dong Residents' Association offered rice cakes. Volunteers from the autonomous disaster prevention corps also participated in the shelter operations.
The total number of people who used the shelters was 249 residents from 138 households at the first shelter, and 87 residents from 50 households at the second shelter, totaling 306 residents from 187 households. The last resident to leave the shelter expressed sincere gratitude to the public officials.
Park Byungkyu, head of the district, stated, "The temporary shelters were measures to minimize damage and alleviate residents' anxiety," adding, "Even after the closure of the shelters, we will continue to listen to residents' opinions and do our best to help them return to normal life."
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