Heavy Rain Alerts Issued for 26 Cities and Counties in Gyeonggi Province...Governor Kim Dong-yeon Orders Highest-Level Emergency Response at Alert Level 3

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] As of 7:50 a.m. on the 18th, heavy rain alerts have been issued for 26 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, including Yeoncheon, while heavy rain advisories remain in effect for the remaining 5 cities and counties. Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province visited the Disaster and Safety Situation Room to inspect dangerous areas and damage conditions via CCTV and ordered the Gyeonggi Province Disaster and Safety Response Headquarters to be escalated to the highest-level emergency response—Alert Level 3. This is the first time this year that Gyeonggi Province's Disaster and Safety Response Headquarters has been raised to Alert Level 3.

Governor Kim urged, "In order to protect the lives and safety of residents, implement preemptive evacuation if necessary, and continue to remain vigilant and cautious until the disaster situation is fully resolved."

Based on cumulative rainfall since rain began on the 16th, Paju has recorded 577.6mm, Yeoncheon 472.0mm, and Dongducheon 405.0mm, in order of highest precipitation. Uijeongbu recorded a maximum hourly rainfall of 103.5mm.

As heavy rain continues, as of 7:00 a.m. on the 18th, damages have occurred including 56 cases of residential flooding, 164 cases of road flooding and traffic obstruction, and 15 cases of landslides and rockfalls. Emergency recovery for these incidents has been completed.

Additionally, the province has temporarily evacuated 233 residents from 118 households in 9 cities and counties to safe shelters due to concerns about landslides and steep slope collapses in areas with weakened ground conditions and areas that have experienced residential flooding damage.

As of 7:00 a.m. on the 18th, the province is restricting access to 37 underground road passages, 5,371 riverside access roads, and 33 embankment parking lots. The province is maintaining thorough emergency operations including two special directives from the governor, conducting heavy rain response inspection meetings with city and county vice administrators, and sending emergency disaster text messages to ensure resident safety.