Firefighting Water Tankers From Across the Country Converge in Gyeongnam ... 4,769 Tons of Emergency Aid Delivered to Drought Zones

A record-breaking heatwave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius has brought severe drought to Gyeongnam Province. In response, 200 firefighting water tanker trucks dispatched from 16 fire departments nationwide have begun supplying emergency water support.

On August 11, at 8:00 p.m., a National Fire Mobilization Order was issued for the drought-stricken areas of Gyeongnam. Over the course of August 12 alone, 4,769.3 tons of water were supplied to these regions.

Of this amount, water used for agricultural purposes accounted for the most at 4,727.3 tons, while 42 tons were allocated for other uses such as livestock facilities and road spraying.

A firefighter is performing emergency agricultural water support work in a rice field in Gunbuk-myeon, Haman-gun, Gyeongnam Province.
[Photo by Se Ryeong Lee]

By region, Miryang, which is facing the most extreme drought conditions, received the largest support with 1,254 tons delivered over 149 separate operations. Yangsan followed with 623.8 tons distributed over 118 occasions.

Additional distributions included: western Gimhae 618 tons (69 operations), Namhae 474 tons (50 operations), Hadong 414 tons (47 operations), Geoje 244 tons (31 operations), Sacheon 220.5 tons (31 operations), Haman 216 tons (36 operations), Geochang 204 tons (24 operations), Changwon 117 tons (30 operations), Tongyeong 102 tons (11 operations), Uiryeong 102 tons (19 operations), Changnyeong 94.5 tons (19 operations), and Jinju 85.5 tons (19 operations).

According to Gyeongnam Province, accumulated precipitation over the past six months amounted to 586.7 mm, which is only 60% of the average 962.8 mm for the same period in previous years.

With no rainfall under the scorching heat, the agricultural water reservoir rate stands at just 47.8% of the average, with the current level at 34.1%. This indicates a grave shortage of agricultural water.

In a rice field in Gunbuk-myeon, Haman-gun, Gyeongnam Province, a fire water tank truck from the Uiseong Fire Headquarters in Gyeongbuk Province is conducting emergency agricultural water supply operations.
Photo by Se-ryung Lee

In particular, Miryang, Geoje, and Haman have been classified under the most severe "critical" drought stage—the only locations nationwide to have reached this level.

Ten cities and counties—Changwon, Jinju, Gimhae, Yangsan, Uiryeong, Changnyeong, Hadong, Sancheong, Hapcheon, and Tongyeong—are under the "warning" level, while Sacheon, Goseong, Namhae, and Geochang are under the "caution" level. Altogether, 17 cities and counties in the province are suffering from drought damage.

As of this date, 2,703 farming households with a total affected area of 2,121 hectares have reported agricultural crop damage within the province.

The province has mobilized 237 excavators, 1,891 water pumps, 435 water delivery trucks, and a workforce of 1,093 people, along with 235 public water supply vehicles from six agencies, including fire departments, the Korea Forest Service, and military units, to provide urgent water support across the region.

Gyeongnam Province Governor Park Wansu stated, "Our top priority is to protect the daily lives of residents and the livelihoods of farmers and fishers from drought and high temperatures, and all administrative resources are being focused on this task." He added, "We will remain vigilant until the situation is fully stabilized, listen more closely to voices in the field, and do everything possible to minimize damage by mobilizing all available resources and capabilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.