Gyeonggi Province will launch a comprehensive maintenance campaign for approximately 900,000 storm drains across the province to prevent flooding damage, particularly in semi-basement homes, and to alleviate residents' concerns ahead of the full onset of the monsoon season.
The provincial government announced that the two-week period from June 16 to June 27 will be designated as the "Storm Drain Intensive Dredging and Maintenance Period," during which it will proactively respond to areas at risk of flooding.
This measure is intended to address the increased occurrence of sudden heavy rains and flood damage due to climate change. Gyeonggi Province plans to prioritize and accelerate maintenance work based on records of past flood damage and flood trace maps.
In particular, during inspections, the province will categorize maintenance targets into the following priorities: 1) areas near households with a history of flood damage, 2) zones identified on flood trace maps, 3) areas with a high concentration of underground floors, and 4) other general areas.
For the first- and second-priority areas, the province will deploy personnel from the provincial and municipal governments, as well as local administrative units, together with voluntary disaster prevention teams and community patrols, concentrating efforts on-site to complete work by June 20. For third-priority and lower areas, all available personnel?including sanitation workers, volunteer firefighters, and voluntary crime prevention teams?will be mobilized to ensure maintenance is completed swiftly before the start of the monsoon season.
To ensure effective on-site maintenance, Gyeonggi Province will assign 124 staff members from six departments within the Safety Management Office to municipalities and will conduct weekly reviews of maintenance performance by each municipality as part of an integrated management approach.
Kim Sungjung, the First Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This measure is not simply about environmental maintenance; it is about establishing a preemptive line of defense to protect the lives and safety of our residents. With the determination that safety begins at the ground level, we will move quickly before the monsoon season to ensure that vulnerable households, such as those in semi-basement homes, do not suffer any damage. We will remain vigilant on-site until the very end."
On June 17, First Vice Governor Kim Sungjung is scheduled to visit several cities and counties in the province, including Gunpo, to inspect dredging operations and other on-site maintenance work.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
