Gyeonggi Province has established and is implementing the "Disaster Response Improvement Plan to Prevent Human Casualties from the Climate Crisis" to prevent loss of life caused by the increasingly severe climate crisis.
First, Gyeonggi Province will strengthen the river hazard alert system and monitoring. Previously, automatic broadcasts were issued only after a certain amount of rainfall had been reached following the onset of precipitation. However, going forward, warning broadcasts will be issued periodically and repeatedly starting from the time a preliminary weather alert is announced.
In addition, beyond the current 28 flood warning points designated by the Hangang Flood Control Center, the province will work with cities and counties to select 10 additional vulnerable sites, such as low-lying areas, and strengthen on-site inspections when flood advisories are issued, thereby expanding the focus areas for river management.
Safety management at campsites will also be improved to better match on-site conditions in terms of information delivery and emergency response protocols.
By utilizing the automatic voice messaging system (VMS) operated by local governments, weather alerts will be immediately communicated by voice to campsite managers, who will then guide visitors on evacuation procedures when necessary.
The VMS system allows administrators to enter the time, recipients, content, and frequency, and will continue calling until the recipient responds, confirming whether the manager has received the alert. Upon check-in, visitors will be required to confirm whether they have received disaster text messages. On-site effectiveness will also be enhanced through visitor education on emergency procedures and distribution of informational posters outlining response plans for each alert level.
In the mid- to long-term, the province will work with the central government to revise the Enforcement Rules of the Tourism Industry Act to clarify mandatory evacuation standards during heavy rain and landslide warnings, thereby establishing institutional safeguards. For rivers, Gyeonggi Province will cooperate with the Ministry of Environment to develop on-site action manuals for flood warning points and, together with local governments, establish on-site response systems that specify evacuation timing, scope, and support personnel.
Separately, starting next year, disaster response infrastructure will be significantly expanded.
The number of newly installed disaster warning and alert facilities, which stood at 169 this year, will be roughly doubled, focusing on campsites and similar locations, reaching 350 facilities next year.
Additionally, 27 riverside locations with high flood risk, including 10 sites managed to the same level as flood warning points, will be newly equipped with CCTV cameras to strengthen real-time monitoring. A home broadcasting system, which enables evacuation announcements even if power or communication networks are lost, will be introduced to improve risk information delivery, especially in mountainous areas, isolated households, and campsites.
An official from Gyeonggi Province stated, "With the increasing variability and intensity of rainfall due to the climate crisis, it is necessary to spread a safety culture based on resident participation, such as refraining from going out or traveling during severe weather alerts. We will establish a disaster response system that enables the timely and voluntary evacuation of residents by rapidly, repeatedly, and robustly disseminating risk information, thereby protecting the lives and safety of our residents and preventing a recurrence of incidents like the Gapyeong case in July."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
