20 households in Miryang's Pyeongji village to be protected

Erosion-control project 90% complete, set to finish before rainy season

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su visits a landslide-vulnerable area in Pyeongji village, Insanri, Cheongdo-myeon, Miryang, on Thursday to inspect the progress of an erosion-control project and the province's disaster-preparedness posture ahead of the rainy season. [South Gyeongsang Province]
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su visits a landslide-vulnerable area in Pyeongji village, Insanri, Cheongdo-myeon, Miryang, on Thursday to inspect the progress of an erosion-control project and the province's disaster-preparedness posture ahead of the rainy season. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province has moved up the completion schedule for an erosion-control project at a landslide-prone site, getting ahead of the approaching monsoon season to protect residents' lives and property. Governor Park Wan-su visited the landslide-vulnerable area in Pyeongji village, Insanri, Cheongdo-myeon, Miryang on Thursday to inspect the project's progress and the province's disaster-response readiness for the wet season.

The Miryang Insan district erosion-control project carries a total budget of 760 million won ($494,000) and involves constructing one erosion-control dam, 14 bed-check structures and 374.5 square meters of streambed paving. The original completion date was July 18, but the province significantly shortened the construction period to prevent forest disasters from summer downpours. The project now stands at 90 percent completion and is on track to finish before the monsoon begins.

Once completed, the project will block debris and driftwood from surging downstream during a landslide, providing meaningful protection to the lives and property of the 20 households in Pyeongji village below.

At the site, Governor Park urged officials to see the project through without delay. "As climate change makes localized heavy rainfall more frequent, the importance of preventing forest disasters is growing," he said. "Please do your utmost to complete the erosion-control work without a hitch so that residents can live safely and with peace of mind in South Gyeongsang Province."

Miryang Mayor An Byeong-gu and the head of the Miryang City Forestry Cooperative were among the officials who joined the inspection Thursday to review the final stages of construction.

Meanwhile, South Gyeongsang Province is investing a total of 45.9 billion won this year in a wide-ranging forest-disaster prevention program focused on landslide-vulnerable areas across the province. Key erosion-control facilities — hillside erosion control, stream conservation and erosion-control dams — have already reached a completion rate of more than 95 percent and are on track to wrap up within the month. Watershed management projects, which take comparatively longer, have also surpassed 80 percent completion and are pushing to finish before the rainy season.


ook967@heraldcorp.com