"Heatwaves are a silent disaster. We must take extra precautions."
Gwangsan-gu, in the South Jeolla Province-Gwangju integrated special city, has launched an emergency response to prevent heat-related illness after the heatwave alert was raised to the "Serious" level, district Mayor Park Byeong-gyu announced.
The district activated its Heatwave Response Disaster Safety Headquarters on Monday, when the government raised the heatwave disaster alert to "Serious," the highest level on the scale.
Gwangsan-gu has been running a comprehensive heatwave response program since May, including operating heat-reduction facilities and cooling shelters and distributing supplies to vulnerable residents.
With the heat index topping 35 degrees Celsius since Wednesday, July 22, the district said it will concentrate its administrative resources on minimizing damage from what it calls the "silent disaster" and protecting public health.
The district is stepping up safety management at farms and outdoor work sites.
Working with voluntary disaster prevention teams, officials will promote heat illness prevention guidelines to protect elderly farmers working alone in the heat. Drones will be deployed to monitor rural areas during the most dangerous hours, from noon to 5 p.m.
Livestock farms will receive 100 ventilation fans and heat-stress relief supplements for animals.
The district is also promoting 50 "Dalgona" mobile worker rest stops — operated in partnership with coffee shops and convenience stores — so that outdoor and mobile workers can use them at any time. On Monday and Tuesday, officials inspected heat illness prevention and management conditions at four apartment construction sites.
Gwangsan-gu is also checking on elderly residents living alone through its "Senior Customized Care Service" and conducting home health visits through its "Heatwave Disaster Helper" program.
An emergency room surveillance network is in operation across nine medical institutions, including Cheomdan General Hospital.
To ease urban heat, six water-spraying trucks will operate twice daily across three zones — Songjeong, Wolgok-Suwan-Sinchang and Cheomdan — through Sept. 30.
This year, the district expanded its "Iced Water Sharing Refrigerator" program to traditional markets, bringing the total to 30 units available to any resident seeking relief from the heat. An additional 42 "smart shade canopies" have also been newly installed.
The district provided air-conditioning cost support to 382 designated cooling shelters.
Safety personnel have been deployed near Imgok Bridge to prevent water-related accidents, and a field response team is operating alongside a public campaign to prevent food poisoning.
"With extreme heat persisting, we are putting citizen safety and damage prevention first and strengthening our response capacity," district Mayor Park said. "We will do everything we can to monitor and manage outdoor labor and farm work during the peak midday heat, and to care for the health of those most vulnerable to heatwaves, including the elderly."
sij@heraldcorp.com
