Yangcheon-gu held an emergency meeting Monday at the district office's disaster safety operations center to review damage and response efforts from the heavy rainfall that struck July 17 and 18, and to discuss preparations for additional rain forecast to continue through July 25.
Chaired by District Mayor Lee Gi-jae, the meeting brought together heads of relevant departments to share weather updates and emergency duty status, and to conduct a comprehensive review of damage by department, response measures taken and flood-risk area management plans.
In the early hours of July 18, Sinwol-dong was hit by rainfall of up to 63 millimeters per hour. The district issued a flood warning at 4:29 a.m.
The district had already activated a Level 1 storm and flood emergency duty alert at 10 p.m. July 17, then raised it to Level 2 at 3:40 a.m. July 18 in a preemptive response.
The district also used the Sinwol stormwater retention and drainage facility to rapidly divert and store excess rainwater in a deep underground tunnel, effectively slowing the rise of water levels in flood-prone areas and preventing backflow damage in residential neighborhoods.
A total of 29 incidents were reported from the downpour — including drainage failures in private sewer lines and storm drains, facility damage, fallen street trees and drainage problems in underground parking lots — all of which have been addressed through emergency measures such as drainage system repairs, tree removal and waterproof tarp installation.
With rain expected to continue through July 25, the district plans to step up on-site monitoring of flood-vulnerable areas, semi-basement housing units, retaining walls, construction sites and storm drains, while maintaining its emergency duty system to respond swiftly to any new incidents.
The district also plans to update its storm and flood response manual based on field cases identified during this response.
"We will work closely with neighborhood community centers to further strengthen on-site inspections of flood-prone areas, and maintain a thorough disaster management and emergency response system to minimize inconvenience and harm to residents," District Mayor Lee said.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
