Firefighters and officials clear a fallen tree on Gajang-ro in Jeongnam-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday after heavy overnight rain. [Yonhap]
Firefighters and officials clear a fallen tree on Gajang-ro in Jeongnam-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday after heavy overnight rain. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held an emergency review meeting at its agricultural disaster response operations center to prepare for heavy rain during the holiday period and minimize damage to the agricultural sector.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said a stationary front approaching from the west would bring heavy rain centered on areas south of the Chungcheong region through Friday, with extremely heavy rainfall expected nationwide from early Saturday morning through Sunday evening.

Forecast precipitation for Friday stands at 30–80mm for the Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions, 20–60mm for the Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang regions, 5–30mm for Jeju Island, and around 5mm for southern Gyeonggi Province.

For Saturday and Sunday, forecasts call for 100–200mm in the Greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province, with more than 300mm possible in the heaviest-hit areas; 80–150mm in the Chungcheong region, with more than 250mm in some areas; 50–100mm in the Gyeongsang region, with more than 150mm in some areas; and 30–80mm in the Jeolla region, with more than 100mm in some areas.

At the review meeting, the ministry checked on conditions with disaster response agencies — including the Korea Forest Service, Rural Development Administration, Korea Rural Community Corporation and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation — as well as nine provincial and metropolitan governments. The checks covered reservoir cracks and leaks, the operation of drainage pumping stations, windbreak netting and drainage channel maintenance at horticultural facilities, drainage channel maintenance around livestock facilities, and the risk of landslides, falling rocks and slope collapses.

The ministry also said that, given the heightened landslide risk from ground weakened by recent heavy rain, it had directed field officials to establish emergency contact networks for farming households near mountainous areas, provide advance guidance on evacuation sites and ensure residents could evacuate quickly if needed.

The ministry plans to mobilize all available resources to minimize casualties and property damage among farmers through round-the-clock situation management, maintaining a coordinated response with disaster agencies centered on its emergency operations center.

"Given the severe damage caused by heavy rain every year, we will focus all our efforts on prevention in disaster-prone sectors and on recovery support," said Kang Dong-yun, director general for rural income and energy policy. "When disasters occur, we will help farmers resume agricultural activities as quickly as possible through prompt damage assessments and recovery assistance."


won@heraldcorp.com