[Senior Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu announced Tuesday that it is stepping up community-level heat response measures to help residents safely escape the heat close to home, as scorching temperatures have continued following the end of the monsoon season.
The district has operated a heat wave management task force and a heat countermeasures headquarters since May, pursuing a comprehensive strategy to prepare for a climate in which extreme heat is becoming the norm. Officials conduct regular field checks across all response areas to ensure that cooling shelters, heat-reduction facilities and vulnerable-resident protection systems are functioning without disruption.
To give residents convenient access to relief from the heat, the district is running 195 designated cooling shelters — 148 senior centers, nine welfare centers, 18 community service centers and nine district public libraries. This year, 134 of those senior centers will serve as extended shelters during heat advisories, staying open until 9 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends so elderly residents can find safe refuge even late in the evening.
When a heat advisory takes effect, three hotels — Stay25 Hotel, Camp Tourism Hotel and Must Stay Motel — will be designated as "senior safety lodgings" from 8 p.m. that day through 8 a.m. the following morning, providing low-income elderly residents who cannot safely spend the night at home with a place to rest.
The district is also expanding street-level heat-reduction infrastructure along pedestrian routes and in parks. Of the existing 134 shade structures, aging units are being replaced with smart shade structures and new ones are being added in heat-vulnerable areas — a total of 23 units are being added, with 13 already installed. Yangcheon Park is also getting a new "cooling fog" system that sprays fine water particles to lower the perceived temperature, giving visitors a more comfortable outdoor environment.
This year also marks the debut of "Happiso," a new-concept outdoor air-conditioned shelter at the children's water play area in Seoseoul Lake Park. Built as an air dome 5 meters in diameter and 3 meters tall, Happiso features a transparent exterior that blends with the park's open scenery and is equipped inside with air conditioners, chairs and fans. The cooling system will run throughout the water play area's operating period — July 21 through Aug. 23 — giving visitors a cool and safe place to rest.
A community safety net for heat-vulnerable residents is also running around the clock. A team of 1,008 "disaster helpers" — comprising neighborhood association heads, community disaster prevention volunteers, elderly care workers and neighborhood care teams — conducts home visits and welfare calls to check on the health and cooling conditions of at-risk residents, including elderly people living alone, those with chronic illnesses and people with disabilities. This year, if a major heat emergency alert is issued, the district has strengthened protections further by requiring welfare checks on residents at risk of dying alone at least once every two days.
In addition, a "dawn labor market summer shelter" for daily workers waiting for jobs outdoors in the early morning hours will remain open through the end of August. The shelter provides air conditioning, rest space and cold water along with other heat-prevention supplies, allowing workers to cool down and rest adequately before heading out to job sites.
Nineteen parks across the district — including Paris Park and Haenuri Fountain Plaza — are operating ground-level fountains and water features that serve as informal cooling spots for passersby. The children's water play areas at Seoseoul Lake Park and the Anyangcheon Family Garden are expected to double as outdoor heat refuges even through August, when temperatures peak.
"During a heat wave, it is just as important to carefully check that the shelters and cooling facilities residents actually use are working properly as it is to install new ones," Yangcheon-gu District Mayor Lee Gi-jae said. "We will continue our field-centered heat response so that every resident can escape the heat close to home, and so that vulnerable residents and outdoor workers can get through the summer safely."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
