Lee Jae-myung: "Need to Review Reservoir Management Methods and Strengthen Mountainous Land Development Permits"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province visited the heavy rain damage sites in Icheon and Gapyeong on the 6th to console residents and review disaster response efforts.

The governor first visited the community center in Sanyang 1-ri, Yupmyeon, Icheon City in the morning to inspect the surroundings and listen to the grievances of affected residents.
In Icheon, torrential rains that fell on the 2nd caused the embankment of Sanyang Reservoir to collapse, unleashing approximately 65,000 tons of stored water onto Sanyang 1-ri village. While there were no casualties, about 10 households were flooded, makeshift structures were swept away, and farmland was inundated, resulting in property damage of 865 million won to public facilities, 95 million won to private facilities, and 5 hectares of agricultural land.
After examining the site, Governor Lee stated, "We need to strengthen the sluice gates and lower the normal water storage capacity," and added, "We need to review reservoir management methods starting with high-risk areas in the province."
After hearing the situation from affected residents and civil servants working on recovery, he encouraged them, saying, "The province will do its best to support Icheon citizens in swiftly overcoming and recovering from this disaster. Stay strong."

In the afternoon, the governor moved to Sanyu-ri, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong County to inspect the landslide accident site. On the 3rd, a pension collapsed due to soil outflow, causing a burial accident that claimed three lives.
Governor Lee stated, "Going forward, there will be increasing demand for housing construction on slopes, but as the climate becomes increasingly unstable, it is necessary to strengthen standards when issuing mountainous land development permits to ensure safety," and added, "Disaster impact assessments should also be implemented for small-scale projects. We are also exploring methods the province can take since mountainous land management authority lies with cities and counties."
The governor then requested Kim Seong-gi, Gapyeong County Chief, to "complete damage surveys promptly as the province will provide support for recovery costs."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province evacuated a total of 1,466 residents, including 1,209 from Yeoncheon and 257 from Paju, to minimize flooding damage in the Imjin River basin. Residents are taking shelter at a total of 25 temporary evacuation centers including schools, community centers, and neighborhood administrative offices. The province has implemented preventive quarantine at temporary evacuation centers to prevent COVID-19 transmission and distributed thermal checks, masks, and hand sanitizer to those entering and leaving.
Additionally, the province is distributing a total of 5,000 emergency relief kits to provide emergency living safety support to residents and operating emergency communication and power restoration teams in cooperation with KT and Korea Electric Power Corporation. The province is also operating an environmental cleanup team at disaster sites to focus on swift recovery.