South Gyeongsang Province Vice Governor Park Il-ung (right) briefs Ministry of Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung (fifth from right) on recovery efforts during Yun's visit to flood-hit areas Tuesday, while requesting the designation of Geoje and Tongyeong as special disaster zones and an additional 3 billion won in special local allocation tax grants. [South Gyeongsang Province]
South Gyeongsang Province Vice Governor Park Il-ung (right) briefs Ministry of Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung (fifth from right) on recovery efforts during Yun's visit to flood-hit areas Tuesday, while requesting the designation of Geoje and Tongyeong as special disaster zones and an additional 3 billion won in special local allocation tax grants. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province has formally requested that the government designate Geoje and Tongyeong as special disaster zones following record rainfall that caused severe damage in both cities, and has also asked for an additional 3 billion won ($2.13 million) in special local allocation tax grants from the Ministry of Interior and Safety. With the ministry signaling a positive response and the scale of damage deemed extreme, the designation is expected to be announced as early as Thursday.

According to South Gyeongsang Province, Vice Governor Park Il-ung met with Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung on Tuesday, when Yun visited flood-hit areas, and urged the early designation of Geoje and Tongyeong as special disaster zones. Park also requested an additional 3 billion won in special local allocation tax grants on top of the 2 billion won already planned, to support emergency recovery and relief for displaced residents.

Designating a special disaster zone normally takes more than two weeks, but when damage is certain to exceed the threshold of 10.25 billion won, the interior minister can recommend a priority designation to the president before a precise assessment is completed. A ministry pre-survey team — two officials each in Geoje and Tongyeong — was conducting on-site inspections through Wednesday, and the ministry said it would actively consider issuing a priority designation Thursday based on the findings.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, casualties in South Gyeongsang Province stood at four — one death in Geoje and three injuries. Of 974 people who had temporarily evacuated, 571 from 293 households — 487 in Geoje and 84 in Tongyeong — had still not returned home and remained in temporary shelters.

Damage to public and private facilities was widespread. Power outages affecting 3,466 households have been fully restored, but 45 roads, 70 homes, five landslide sites and 30 waterways were damaged or flooded. Water supply restoration reached 72 percent, with 4,155 of 5,767 households that lost service back online. Floodwaters submerged 364 hectares of crops, and 16 traditional markets sustained flood damage.

The province mobilized about 4,700 personnel — including some 400 military conscripts — along with 651 pieces of equipment for emergency recovery efforts Wednesday. It also plans to channel a total of 3.7 billion won in emergency funds to affected cities and counties Thursday: 2 billion won in government special grants, 1 billion won from the province's own disaster management fund and 700 million won from its disaster relief fund.


ook967@heraldcorp.com