Gangwon Province will provide emergency cooling supplies to low-income households and elderly residents living alone who are vulnerable to heat-related illness.
The measure aims to protect the health and safety of older residents who lack air conditioning or rely on aging units they cannot afford to replace. Severe heat waves are classified as a natural disaster.
The province plans to distribute 2,000 electric fans and 2,500 cooling blanket sets through municipal governments and institutions that operate the customized elderly care service, to help seniors stay cool through the summer.
Care workers under the customized elderly care service will also visit each eligible household in person to deliver the supplies and provide safety guidance — including what to do when a heat advisory is issued and how to use designated cooling shelters.
"With a record-breaking heat wave forecast this summer, we moved proactively, drawing on the disaster relief fund managed by the disaster safety office, so that economically and physically vulnerable seniors can get through the season safely," said Yoo Ji-young, director of the province's welfare and health bureau. "We will continue to put the safety of our elderly residents first and pursue a tight, field-centered welfare administration going forward."
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