South Gyeongsang drought hits critical point this weekend as firefighters, military mobilized

Emergency firefighting resources from across the country and military water trucks have been rushed to South Gyeongsang Province as it grapples with a severe drought, providing some relief to the agricultural water supply. Officials say the worst may have passed, but whether the crisis is fully resolved depends on how much rain falls this weekend.

According to South Gyeongsang Province and the National Fire Agency, the government issued a national fire mobilization order for drought response in the province at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The order deploys firefighting resources from across the country when a disaster exceeds the capacity of a single city or province to handle alone.

In response, 200 water tanker trucks from fire headquarters across 16 cities and provinces — including Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Busan and Daegu — were dispatched to the hardest-hit areas of South Gyeongsang Province. Since the mobilization order was issued, crews have delivered a total of 4,769.3 metric tons of water in 653 trips, with 99 percent — 4,727.3 metric tons — going to agricultural use, including farmland and orchards.

The emergency response reflects a widening gap between the province's major dams, which supply drinking and household water and have remained relatively stable, and its agricultural reservoirs, whose storage levels have fallen sharply, causing growing crop damage. As of Thursday, the average storage rate at agricultural reservoirs in South Gyeongsang Province stood at 33.0 percent — less than half the seasonal average of 71.0 percent.

The hardest-hit areas are receiving concentrated support. Forty fire trucks from Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province have been deployed to Miryang, stationed in Samnangjin-eup and Hanam-eup, while emergency water supply operations are also underway across the province, including in Jinju, Sacheon, Gimhae, Namhae-gun and Hadong.

A civilian-government-military cooperation framework has also been activated. The Army's 39th Division dispatched 13 water trucks Thursday to Gaya-eup, Chirwon-eup and Chilseo-myeon in Haman-gun, while the Air Education and Training Command, the 3rd Training Flying Wing, the Navy Jinhae Base Command and the Korea Forest Service's Hamyang National Forest Management Office are also providing vehicles and personnel.

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su visited Miryang on Thursday morning to inspect the water supply situation and assess drought damage. Provincial officials said the emergency water deliveries have addressed the most immediate needs, but that reservoir levels remain far below seasonal norms and it is too early to declare the situation under control.

"The emergency water supply is providing some relief to crops that were withering," a provincial official said, "but with reservoir levels still very low, whether it rains this weekend will be the biggest turning point in resolving the drought." The province said it will continue to monitor weather conditions closely and maintain its emergency water supply operations.