Gangnam-gu has rushed cooling facilities, drinking water and medical services to residents of Guryong Village, a community particularly vulnerable to extreme heat.
District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi visited the site three times — on July 30, Monday and Tuesday — to hear residents' concerns and review the support being provided.
Kim first visited the village's heatwave shelter on July 30 to assess its cooling facilities and how residents were using them. He returned Monday alongside officials from the Ministry of Interior and Safety after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised its heatwave alert to Level 2. At that visit, he directed emergency measures based on feedback from residents.
The district acted the very next day. Working with SH Corporation, it installed three additional mobile air conditioners at two communal living spaces beyond the existing shelter at the village community center. Kim returned to the site Tuesday to verify the installation and check on health management measures for residents.
Drinking water was also supplied on an emergency basis that day. One thousand bottles of Arisu water were delivered to residents with support from the Gangnam Waterworks Office. An additional 2,000 bottles from the Yeongdeungpo Arisu Center are set to be distributed Wednesday.
To respond swiftly to the extreme heatwave alert issued Tuesday, the district is operating a temporary clinic at Guryong Village for 11 days from Aug. 4 through Aug. 14, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. One doctor and one nurse are stationed there to check residents' health and provide treatment as needed, and an ambulance remains on standby at the site around the clock for emergencies. On the clinic's opening day, 13 residents came in for consultations and health checkups.
"Having gone to Guryong Village myself and heard directly from residents, we moved without delay to provide the support they needed," Kim said. "Until the heatwave is over, we will keep a close eye on conditions at Guryong Village, where living conditions are difficult, and do everything in our power to ensure residents can get through the summer safely and in good health."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
