Seoul's Eunpyeong-gu convened an emergency response meeting chaired by District Mayor Kim Mi-kyung on Tuesday as record-breaking heat continued and a serious heat wave alert took effect, mobilizing the district's full administrative resources to protect residents.
Heads of relevant departments — covering disaster safety, welfare, public health, construction and the environment — attended the meeting to review heat wave response efforts across each sector and discuss additional measures to minimize harm to residents.
Upon the issuance of the serious heat wave alert, the district immediately activated its Disaster Safety Response Headquarters, focusing on five areas: heat wave situation management, welfare checks and health monitoring for vulnerable residents, inspections of cooling shelters and heat-reduction facilities, safety management for outdoor workers, and strengthened public outreach on heat wave precautions.
The district has stepped up in-person health visits and welfare checks for heat-vulnerable groups including elderly residents living alone, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses. Working with a smart welfare-check service, the district is conducting intensive monitoring of socially isolated households and expanding outreach to homeless people on the streets. It has also strongly urged construction sites and other outdoor workplaces to guarantee sufficient rest breaks and adopt flexible working hours.
To help residents escape the heat, the district has deployed water-spraying trucks along six major high-traffic road routes spanning 27.8 kilometers. It is also operating 211 cooling shelters, 108 shade structures and seven cooling-fog installations, along with water play areas at children's parks. The district is actively promoting heat wave safety guidelines through SNS and outdoor digital signboards.
"A heat wave is a disaster directly linked to human life, so we will concentrate every administrative resource to ensure public safety," District Mayor Kim said. "I urge residents to refrain from outdoor activities during the midday hours and to strictly follow heat wave safety guidelines, including drinking plenty of water and getting adequate rest."
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