Yongin City Has Lowest Risk of Heat Wave Damage...Research Paper on Heat Wave Vulnerability Assessment Draws Attention

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] A research result indicating that Yongin City is the safest city in South Korea against heat waves is drawing attention.

According to Yongin City on the 13th, the Department of Civil and Environmental Systems Engineering at Hanyang University and the Research Institute of Burin Co., Ltd. reached this conclusion through a paper titled "Heat Wave Vulnerability Assessment of South Korea Considering Socioeconomic Factors."

The paper, which evaluated Yongin City as having the lowest possibility of suffering heat wave damage, was published in the Korea Disaster Prevention Society Journal last October.

The research team compared local governments by utilizing detailed indicators such as green space area, welfare and medical infrastructure including the number of hospital beds and doctors, the number of heat wave shelters per 10,000 people, and the proportion of health-vulnerable age populations.

Following Yongin, Seongnam City, Goyang City, Changwon City in South Gyeongsang Province, and Namyangju City came next.

Heat waves beyond extreme heat are one of the natural disasters causing the most casualties. In addition to the death of crops, livestock, and aquatic products, they also affect society and the economy in general, including energy consumption and deformation of roads and railways.

Yongin City is implementing various measures to prepare for heat waves, including expanding heat wave reduction facilities such as shade structures, operating water sprinkler trucks, and providing customized visiting health management for health-vulnerable groups.

The city has installed and operates shade structures at 827 locations, including the Myeongji University Entrance intersection in Cheoin-gu, Yongbuk-dong with high pedestrian traffic where pedestrians can escape the heat while waiting for signals at crosswalks, Giheung Station intersection in Giheung-gu, and Royal Sports Center intersection in Suji-gu.

This is 123 more than 704 locations last year. The city plans to install an additional 79 shade structures this month.

The city distributed agricultural management guidelines in response to heat waves to farms and livestock facilities, and supported immune-enhancing agents to increase livestock immunity and prevent death.

To prevent heat-related illnesses among 4,562 health-vulnerable households including elderly living alone, patients with chronic diseases, and people with disabilities, 14 health center staff members visit each home to check basic health conditions such as blood pressure and blood sugar, and also provide guidance on heat wave preparedness measures.

When heat wave special warnings are issued, the city deploys three water sprinkler trucks to spray water over 203 km of downtown areas to cool roadside heat and prevent road surface deformation due to overheating.

A city official said, "As we are carefully monitoring to safely protect citizens from heat waves, we ask citizens to strictly follow health guidelines."