Record-Breaking Blizzard in 117 Years Governor Kim Dong-yeon Recommends Closure of Elementary Schools and Kindergartens to Prevent Safety Accidents from Heavy Snow

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Kap-dong] Regarding the record-breaking blizzard that has continued for the third day since the 26th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon issued an emergency recommendation on the 28th for elementary schools and kindergartens across the province to close.

The province determined that the risks of collapse, falls, and traffic accidents are high due to the record-breaking snowfall, and explained that it made this decision after conducting emergency consultations with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education early morning on the 28th to prevent safety accidents.

The final decision on school and kindergarten closures will be made at the discretion of each principal and director. The province believes that closures of elementary schools and kindergartens could help reduce traffic congestion by decreasing factors that generate traffic.

The province also instructed all employees to refrain from official business travel except for disaster response, and encouraged employees who need to take pregnant women and children to and from school or require childcare to actively utilize parental leave, annual leave, family care leave, and remote work.

The province elevated the emergency level of the Disaster Safety Response Headquarters from level 2 to level 3 at 10 p.m. on the 27th. This is the first time Gyeonggi Province has activated emergency response level 3 due to heavy snow. This year marks the second time since a heavy rain advisory was issued across Gyeonggi Province on July 18th.

Emergency level 3 maintains the situation management leader as the head of the Natural Disaster Division and expands emergency personnel to 34 to implement emergency operations in response to the heavy snow situation. Specifically, the province will △strengthen snow removal operations on major arterial roads for smooth traffic flow during commute hours △conduct snow removal using autonomous disaster prevention teams and village snow removal units on alleyways, major side roads, and bus stops frequently used by residents △establish emergency contact systems with local fire and police departments to implement resident evacuation and controlled access to dangerous areas when signs of danger emerge.

Meanwhile, as of the 28th, heavy snow warnings have been issued for 21 cities and counties including Yangpyeong and Gwangju, while heavy snow advisories have been issued for 5 cities and counties including Gimpo and Gapyeong.

As of 8 a.m. on the 28th, the average snowfall across Gyeonggi Province recorded 26.0cm. Yongin City recorded the most snow at 47.5cm, while Yeoncheon County recorded the least at 1.5cm.