President Lee Jae-myung visited Obong Reservoir in Seongsan-myeon, Gangneung-si, Gangwon Province on the 30th of last month to inspect the progress of drought response measures. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
President Lee Jaemyung stated on the 13th that he hopes the rainfall in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, which had been suffering from a prolonged drought, will bring comfort to local residents, calling it "truly welcome news."
In a Facebook message posted that morning, President Lee said, "At last, much-needed rain has fallen in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, which had been experiencing an unprecedented drought."
President Lee added, "Although this rain will not resolve the aftermath of the drought that began on July 6, I hope it offers at least some comfort to the citizens of Gangneung, who have been suffering so much that even doing laundry or taking a shower freely was impossible due to the indefinite water restrictions."
President Lee explained, "Since my on-site visit on August 30 to inspect the situation and the subsequent declaration of a national disaster, the government has issued a nationwide fire department mobilization order and launched an emergency response. We mobilized water tanker vehicles from the military and fire departments across the country to transport water from nearby purification plants to the water supply sources. We also expanded available water sources by utilizing nearby river water in cooperation with related agencies and installed additional necessary facilities."
He went on to emphasize, "Going forward, we will thoroughly review and further strengthen related systems and management frameworks to ensure that the public does not experience inconvenience due to various environmental factors such as climate change. Any shortcomings will be swiftly addressed so that we can establish a system capable of proactively responding to all situations."
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