The government is expanding psychological recovery support for disaster victims in North Gyeongsang Province, who have suffered successive blows from wildfires and heavy rainfall. [Getty Images Bank]
The government is expanding psychological recovery support for disaster victims in North Gyeongsang Province, who have suffered successive blows from wildfires and heavy rainfall. [Getty Images Bank]

The government is strengthening mental health support for disaster victims in North Gyeongsang Province who lost their homes to wildfires and have now been hit again by torrential rains. The expanded support — ranging from on-site psychological counseling to referrals for specialist treatment — aims to ease the mental trauma caused by repeated disasters and help residents return to their daily lives.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Monday that they have activated a psychological support unit within the flood-response recovery headquarters this month and will expand disaster mental health services for flood victims.

The government said it will dispatch counselors directly to affected areas to quickly assess the mental state of displaced residents. Those identified as high-risk — showing signs of stress, depression or sleep disorders — will be referred to local mental health welfare centers and trauma centers for specialized treatment.

Support will focus particularly on residents of Andong and Uiseong in North Gyeongsang Province, who had been living in temporary prefabricated housing after last year's wildfires and have now suffered flooding on top of that. The government said it plans to intensify tailored psychological support, recognizing that those who have endured prolonged displacement and then faced another disaster are likely experiencing deep feelings of loss and helplessness.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety will run community recovery programs alongside on-site counseling to help stabilize disaster survivors psychologically. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will operate senior center counseling programs and telephone monitoring through the Yeongnam regional trauma center and local mental health welfare centers, and will prioritize identifying and managing residents who were previously counseled for wildfire trauma and have since been affected by the flooding.

A mobile counseling vehicle known as the "Maeum Ansim Bus" will also be deployed to affected areas to provide concentrated counseling services.

Kim Jung-yeol, director general for disaster recovery support at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, said the ministry would work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to help flood victims regain psychological stability as quickly as possible. "We will also push ahead without delay on recovery support so that displaced residents can return to their normal lives as soon as possible," he said.

Lee Seon-yeong, director of mental health policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said the ministry would implement its psychological support measures for flood victims without disruption. "We will make sure there are no gaps in the ongoing case management for victims of both the wildfires and the heavy rains in North Gyeongsang Province," she said.


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