Hwaseong City Operates Risk Assessment Team for Earthquake-Damaged Facilities

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 11th that it will operate a risk assessment team for earthquake-damaged facilities.

According to the Earthquake Disaster Countermeasures Act, the city plans to establish and operate a risk assessment team composed of academic experts and local residents to prevent secondary damage following earthquake-related damage.

The risk assessment team will establish assessment divisions for each region or facility to evaluate risk levels, and will determine the number of assessment divisions based on the scope of the affected area, types of damaged facilities, and scale of damage.

The risk assessment team will prioritize evaluating schools, public facilities, and hospitals, and based on the evaluations, classify damaged facilities as dangerous, caution, or safe, with notice boards attached and access to the facilities controlled accordingly.

The risk assessment team can also request support in equipment and personnel from other local governments in cases where large-scale earthquake damage makes self-assessment difficult.

The city must enroll team members in insurance to prepare for cases where death, injury, or harm occurs in connection with risk assessment activities.

The timing and scope of risk assessment will be determined by the head of the Hwaseong Regional Headquarters to prevent secondary damage, and can be extended in consideration of the scale of damage and local circumstances.

The city has announced an ordinance draft regarding the composition and operation of the risk assessment team for earthquake-damaged facilities.

A city official stated, “We have enacted this ordinance to establish legal support grounds for the composition and operation of the risk assessment team, ensuring practical activity guarantees and support from local governments,” and added, “Going forward, we will make efforts to secure citizen safety from earthquake damage.”