Gyeonggi Province Confirms and Completes All Risk Factors Before Rainy Season

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province is completing preliminary inspections of rainy season-vulnerable facilities with the goal of minimizing casualties during the monsoon season, and accelerating supplementary measures before the rainy season begins.

The province held the 7th provincial and municipal government joint meeting on "Pre-summer Disaster Prevention Measures and Concentrated Safety Inspections" on the 13th at the Northern Regional Office command center, presided over by Kim Gyu-sik, Director of Safety Management, to jointly review the status of concentrated safety inspections and the results of inspections on summer rainy season-vulnerable facilities.

Since launching a dedicated task force in February, the province has been implementing pre-disaster prevention measures targeting eight areas: semi-basement residences, underground parking lots in apartment complexes, underground underpasses, riverside pedestrian safety, storm drains, reservoirs, steep slopes, and camping sites.

As a result, 54,313 priority management facilities with high risk levels were identified out of 964,617 total managed sites, and inspections of 54,285 facilities were completed as of May 11. Among these, all inspections of 5,261 joint inspection sites by province and municipalities have been completed.

The province plans to share findings and supplementary needs identified during the inspection process with municipalities and counties, and to manage so that corrections are completed before the rainy season begins.

In particular, rather than stopping at simple facility inspections, the province is prioritizing facilities with high risk levels using data such as the climate platform, river flooding and urban inundation maps. Facilities with concerns about flooding or isolation are classified as requiring immediate inspection and measures to be managed for supplementary action before the rainy season.

The province is also conducting parallel AI and ICT-based emergency prevention projects for summer casualties. With the goal of completing projects by June 5, the province is implementing emergency prevention facilities including flooding detection alarm devices, automatic blocking systems, water gates, and smart evacuation broadcasting systems. The project targets 931 sites across 28 municipalities and counties, and the province has provided subsidy payments for emergency prevention projects in seven fields and completed overall project budget allocation as of May 7.

The province plans to expand rapid control and evacuation infrastructure using advanced facilities in case of disaster risks, and to sequentially expand related projects next year as well. Additionally, for already-installed facilities such as flooding detection alarm devices and automatic blocking systems, the province will thoroughly conduct advance publicity and training so that residents can actually use them in real situations.

Meanwhile, the province is also strengthening follow-up measures and record management in connection with concentrated safety inspections for 2,433 disaster-prone facilities and safety-vulnerable livelihood facilities. This year's concentrated safety inspection will be conducted as a field-oriented inspection from April 20 to June 19 with the participation of residents, civil servants, and private experts.

Kim Gyu-sik, Director of Provincial Safety Management, stated, "Under the principle that disaster response cannot be excessive, we will confirm and supplement all risk factors before the monsoon season," and added, "We will address risk factors identified in this inspection before the rainy season arrives and link them to actual-functioning preventive measures to make every effort in preventing casualties during the rainy season."