Jinju City Secures 16 Billion Won for Restoration and Improvement of Rivers Damaged by July Heavy Rain

Full-Scale River Improvement of Hyangyangcheon Stream in Jiphyeon-myeon
Enhancing Flood Response to Extreme Rainfall

Jinju City in South Gyeongsang Province announced on September 1 that Hyangyangcheon Stream in Jiphyeon-myeon, which suffered flood damage due to heavy rainfall in July, has been designated as a full-scale river improvement and restoration site by the Central Joint Damage Investigation Team of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The city has secured a total restoration budget of 16 billion won, including 8 billion won in national funding.

In the affected section of Hyangyangcheon Stream, the upstream Eookcheon Stream and the downstream confluence with the Nam River have already been improved, but the area around Wol-a Village in the middle section remained unimproved, which became a problem. It is believed that the narrowing of the river only in this middle section, due to topographical factors, led to insufficient waterway cross-section, causing the river to overflow and resulting in flooding of nearby farmland.

Jinju City River Improvement and Restoration Site.

Moreover, with record-breaking heavy rains occurring more frequently due to recent abnormal weather events, simple restoration is no longer a fundamental solution, making repeated river damage inevitable if another extreme downpour occurs.

Therefore, the city plans to go beyond simple restoration and dramatically enhance disaster prevention by carrying out improvement works based on the basic river plan. Specifically, for the unimproved 1.6-kilometer section, the current river width will be expanded by 16 meters, from 38 meters to 54 meters, and the embankments will be raised to sufficiently secure the waterway cross-section, thereby creating a structural and functional foundation to safely withstand record rainfall.

A city official stated, "The improvement and restoration project will significantly strengthen our ability to respond to unpredictable climate change," adding, "We will continue to do our utmost to protect the safety and property of our citizens and to prevent the recurrence of similar damage."

Meanwhile, Jinju City plans to invest 27.2 billion won in disaster restoration funds for 100 rivers damaged by the extreme rainfall in July, aiming to complete all river restoration work before next year's rainy season.