Mayor Dong-sik Park of Sacheon City Leads On-Site Response to Record Rainfall, Prevents Human Casualties

Average Cumulative Rainfall Reaches 312.2mm, Maximum 458mm
298 Officials Mobilized for Staged Emergency Duty
41 Residents from 28 Households Evacuated in Advance
Emergency Repairs Completed for 28 Out of 29 Cases of Public and Private Facility Damage

Sacheon City in South Gyeongsang Province activated an emergency work system in response to the heavy rains that lasted from August 15 to 17, conducting inspections in disaster-prone areas and overseeing the advance evacuation of residents.

According to the city, the average cumulative rainfall recorded during this period was 312.2 mm, with Shinsu-dong receiving the most at 458 mm. Sungu-dong recorded 441 mm, Dongseo-dong 421 mm, and Beolyong-dong 416 mm, with several areas seeing more than 400 mm of rain.

[Photo by Sacheon City] Sacheon City has raised the emergency operations of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to level 2 in response to the heavy rain advisory and related officials are inspecting the disaster situation and operating the emergency response system.

On August 16 alone, the city experienced an average rainfall of 207 mm, while Shinsu-dong recorded 316 mm in a single day. The city began its initial response at 4:00 p.m. on August 15 to prepare for the heavy rain, and, following the issuance of a heavy rain advisory at 4:30 a.m. on August 16, activated the emergency duty Level 1.

Subsequently, when a heavy rain warning was issued at 12:35 p.m. on August 16, the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised the emergency duty level to Level 2, mobilizing 160 personnel and operating an emergency response system centered on the headquarters, relevant departments, and district offices (eup, myeon, and dong).

On August 16, a Sunday, at 3:30 p.m., Mayor Dong-sik Park presided over a heavy rain countermeasure meeting at the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, inspecting rainfall conditions, the status of damage in each area, resident evacuation updates, and the management of disaster-prone zones.

At the meeting, Mayor Park called for strengthened monitoring of areas at risk of human casualties, and ordered that prompt measures such as advance evacuation of residents be implemented immediately if any danger signs are identified.

He also instructed that on-site inspections be reinforced for roads, rivers, landslide-prone areas, and low-lying or flood-prone areas, and that personnel and equipment be deployed swiftly in the event of damage to minimize further losses.

From 9:00 a.m. on August 17, the emergency duty level was adjusted to Level 1 according to weather conditions, and the emergency work system was officially terminated at 4:00 p.m. the same day, when the heavy rain advisory was lifted. In total, 298 city officials participated in emergency duty in stages during the response to the heavy rain.

Protective measures were also taken for residents affected by the downpour.

Sacheon City evacuated 41 residents from 28 households in advance from areas at risk of flooding or landslides, ensuring their safety, and allowed them to return home after confirming site safety and weather conditions.

As of now, 29 damage cases have been confirmed, including 22 to public facilities and 7 to private facilities. Damage to public facilities included 12 cases related to roads, 6 cases of poor drainage, 2 cases of fallen trees or forest damage, and 2 others. Private facility damage consisted of flooding in 7 homes and apartments.

Sacheon City promptly carried out emergency repairs after inspecting the damage sites, completing restoration work for 28 out of 29 cases, and is continuing restoration of the remaining case.

Moving forward, the city plans to continue damage investigation and registration through the National Disaster Management System (NDMS), and according to the survey results, will carry out follow-up processes such as restoration of public facilities and disaster relief support for private properties.

During the heavy rain, the city responded to on-site damage such as road flooding, soil runoff, and drainage problems by implementing road controls, water drainage, and debris removal, and coordinated with the police and fire departments to manage traffic and site safety.

Sacheon City believes that, through advance evacuation, monitoring of danger zones, and on-site control, human casualties were prevented in the course of responding to this episode of heavy rain. However, the city will conduct additional surveys of the damage sites to identify any overlooked cases and will continue to monitor restoration efforts closely.

[Photo provided by Sacheon City] Mayor Dongshik Park of Sacheon City is visiting disaster-vulnerable areas to check the damage situation caused by record-breaking heavy rain, confirming the on-site response status and safety management conditions.

Mayor Dong-sik Park of Sacheon City stated, "As record-breaking heavy rainfall continued, we placed the utmost priority on the safety of our citizens and responded to the disaster. We will continue to verify restoration in the affected areas and watch for additional damages, and we will analyze our response to this heavy rain to further strengthen our disaster response system."

The absence of human casualties despite an average of 312 mm and a maximum of 458 mm of heavy rain highlights the importance of proactive responses such as advance evacuation and on-site monitoring.

However, with 29 cases of damage to public and private facilities confirmed, efforts should go beyond simply reducing damage scale. The city needs to continually implement prior inspections and improvements to drainage systems and flood-prone areas.

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