Gyeongsangnam-do Requests 'Special Disaster Zone' Designation for Geoje and Tongyeong ... Also Seeks Additional 3 Billion Won in Special Grants

Gyeongsangnam-do has requested that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designate Geoje and Tongyeong, which suffered severe damage from extreme heavy rainfall, as special disaster zones and provide additional special grants.

On August 18, Park Il-woong, Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs, asked Yun Hojung, Minister of the Interior and Safety, who visited Geoje and Tongyeong—areas affected by landslides that caused human casualties and property damage due to heavy rain—to officially declare these two cities as special disaster zones.

He also requested an additional 3 billion won in special grants needed for prompt emergency recovery.

Deputy Governor Park explained, “The current 2 billion won in special grants allocated is not sufficient to support both emergency restoration of damaged facilities and the stabilization of the livelihoods of displaced residents.”

Yun Hojung, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (center), is listening to a report on the site conditions at an apartment in Tongyeong, where human casualties and property damage occurred due to a landslide during the heavy rain. [Photo by Gyeongnam Province]

Previously, from August 15 to 17, during the Liberation Day holiday, record-breaking torrential rains hit the Gyeongnam region.

In particular, the downpour was concentrated along the southern coast, including Geoje and Tongyeong, with Geoje receiving 954.8 millimeters of rain and Tongyeong receiving 763.0 millimeters over the three-day period.

Due to the rain, landslides, flooding of homes and roads, damage to roads and facilities, and river overflows occurred, resulting in one death and three injuries.

On this day, Minister Yun visited the affected areas of Geoje and Tongyeong in succession to assess the damage and check on the status of recovery efforts.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced plans to conduct a preliminary damage assessment while considering the designation of special disaster zones and the provision of additional special grants.

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