Gwangjin-gu convened an emergency meeting Tuesday morning in response to a severe heat wave alert, conducting a full review of heat response operations to ensure the safety of district residents.
At the meeting, officials reviewed heat response measures and checked the status of key initiatives, including protection of vulnerable groups, expanded road water-spraying, cooling shelter operations and construction site safety management.
Officials also agreed to maintain a field-centered response system until the heat wave subsides, committing all available resources to resident safety.
To ease the urban heat island effect, the district has deployed water-spraying trucks and road-cleaning vehicles on major arterial roads and is operating 13 cooling road and cooling fog installations.
The district is also using administrative vehicles from local community offices to extend water-spraying to residential back streets and neighborhood roads, broadening its heat-reduction efforts.
Cooling shelters are operating without interruption so that all residents can escape the heat. The district is running 97 cooling shelters at senior centers and welfare facilities, 21 smart cooling shelters, and 17 climate-companion shelters at convenience stores, banks and similar venues. A shelter for mobile workers is open every day throughout August, including weekends, and the district office building is open around the clock for residents who need to take refuge at night.
Protection for heat-vulnerable residents has also been strengthened. The district is conducting enhanced welfare checks on 3,775 elderly residents who live alone or have limited mobility, coordinating customized senior care services, IoT safety management solutions, and free meal and beverage delivery to closely monitor their health and safety.
Safety management for outdoor workers is being stepped up as well. The district is advising public worksites and private construction sites on heat-stage action guidelines and inspecting compliance with safety rules, including recommendations to suspend outdoor work and requirements to operate rest facilities. Outdoor work for public employment program workers has been suspended, and heat response supplies are being distributed.
The district is also disseminating heat wave alerts and public action guidelines through its website, SNS channels and electronic signboards, and is sending emergency safety text messages every day to help residents respond to the heat.
"A heat wave is no longer a mere seasonal inconvenience — it is a disaster that threatens the lives and health of our residents," district mayor Kim Gyeong-ho said. "Until the heat wave is over, I will inspect the field every day, maintain a field-centered response system, and do my utmost to look after residents who are most vulnerable to the heat — including the elderly and outdoor workers — so that everyone in Gwangjin-gu can have a safe summer."
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