An elderly couple growing carrots in Handong-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju, fill a plastic tank installed on their 1-ton truck with water from a public water bladder set up during a drought. [Yonhap News]

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 20th that it held its fourth meeting regarding the damage from the record-breaking heavy rainfall in the Gyeongnam region to review the damage to major facilities and discuss recovery measures.

The headquarters decided to prioritize urgent safety inspections of high-risk areas, such as landslides and steep slopes, and to implement measures to prevent secondary damage, including the installation of waterproof tarps and restricting access in preparation for additional rainfall.

For those temporarily evacuated and disaster victims staying in temporary housing facilities, the government plans to provide relief supplies and psychological recovery support, and ensure they can return home only after the safety of their residences has been verified.

For schools affected by flooding, the government will promote rapid recovery and conduct safety inspections of facilities before the start of the new semester. It will also cooperate with the Korea Electric Power Corporation to provide support for the restoration of power for households still experiencing outages.

For traditional markets and shopping districts that suffered flooding and debris flow damage, such as the Gohyeon Market in Geoje, a "one-stop support center" will be operated to assist with facility restoration and financial aid.

Regarding crop damage, the government plans to pay disaster recovery funds and insurance payouts after conducting damage assessments, and to expand the supply of pesticides and nutrients as well as provide guidance on plant growth to prevent secondary damage such as pest outbreaks.

Yoon Ho-jung, Chief of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Interior and Safety), stated, "We will mobilize all available personnel and equipment to swiftly complete the emergency restoration of damaged facilities and concentrate all administrative resources so that residents can return to their daily lives as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a joint inspection meeting with relevant agencies on the same day to discuss regional rainfall, current water storage levels in major dams and reservoirs, and short- and long-term water supply measures for areas concerned about drought.

This follows the fact that, despite recent heavy rainfall, drought conditions have not been resolved in some regions, such as Jeonbuk, which received relatively low amounts of precipitation.