"All city and county offices must make every effort to conduct pre-inspections and take proactive measures to ensure the safety of residents."
With heavy rain warnings issued across the entire Gyeongnam region, Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, has urgently ordered all city and county offices to take preemptive actions in preparation for the heavy rain.
On July 17, when heavy rain warnings were in effect throughout the province as of 8:00 a.m., Governor Park convened an executive meeting at the provincial government and instructed, "Before additional heavy rain intensifies, implement safety measures in disaster-prone areas such as low-lying zones, coastal areas, construction sites, and underpasses."
He also said, "Strengthen the cooperation system with related agencies such as fire and police departments so that immediate response is possible."
Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is giving urgent instructions to all city and county offices to prepare for heavy rain warnings during the provincial government executive meeting. Provided by Gyeongnam Province
In particular, regarding Sancheong and Hadong, where the ground has been weakened due to major wildfires, he emphasized, "Since the risk of landslides is extremely high during heavy rain, reinforce on-site inspections and, if necessary, consider evacuating residents."
He further instructed, "Thoroughly inspect and maintain drainage facilities such as roadside drains, sewers, and manholes to prevent damage in advance," and reiterated, "Mayors and deputy mayors should personally inspect sites and respond immediately, and provincial department heads must not neglect on-site checks either."
As of 8:00 a.m. that day, with heavy rain warnings in effect throughout the province, Gyeongnam Province raised the emergency level of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters from 'initial response' to 'emergency level 1', and then further escalated it to 'emergency level 2' at 11:30 a.m. to manage the situation accordingly.
Currently, a total of 1,678 people, including those from the province and city and county offices, have begun emergency duty, activating emergency contact networks for each agency and mobilizing all available measures to prevent casualties.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration's forecast, 30 to 80 mm of rain is expected in Gyeongnam on this day, with more than 100 mm near Jirisan, and more than 150 mm in Haman County and Changnyeong County.
From July 18 to 19, very heavy rain is expected to continue, with 100 to 200 mm forecast for the entire province, and up to 300 mm near the southern coast and Jirisan.
Currently, Gyeongnam Province is restricting access to dangerous areas such as mountain valleys, riversides, and Sewolgyo bridges. As of 10:00 a.m., access has been blocked at a total of 44 locations, including 17 roads, 2 riverside walking trails, and 25 Sewolgyo bridges.
The province is expanding restricted areas according to rainfall conditions and is continuing real-time on-site response to prevent further casualties.
Additionally, urgent instructions have been issued to all city and county offices to maintain the operation of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, immediately implement preemptive measures such as inspections of vulnerable areas, resident announcements, and access control.
Governor Park emphasized, "The most important thing in natural disasters is prevention," and added, "Maintain a system to deliver disaster information to residents quickly and accurately, and carry out emergency restoration promptly in flooded areas."
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