Geoje, Tongyeong push flood recovery as South Gyeongsang Province mobilizes full support

Residents, government workers, soldiers and volunteers are working together to speed up emergency recovery in the Geoje and Tongyeong areas of South Gyeongsang Province, which were battered by record rainfall. With the emergency recovery rate approaching 75%, the province has launched full-scale relief and livelihood support measures for displaced residents.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, the South Gyeongsang Province Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters reported a total of 2,273 flood-damage cases in the Geoje and Tongyeong areas — 1,578 in Geoje and 695 in Tongyeong. Of those, 1,701 cases have been resolved, putting the recovery rate at 74.8%. All 45 damaged road sections have been restored, while 149 of 192 river-related cases (78%), 34 of 46 landslide cases (74%), and 1,034 of 1,161 single-family homes (89%) have received emergency treatment.

A cumulative total of 18,519 personnel have been deployed to the scene since Monday, Aug. 17. The workforce includes 9,204 volunteers, 3,498 fire department personnel, 2,885 civil servants, 1,797 soldiers and 1,135 police officers, with 1,950 pieces of heavy equipment also mobilized. About 280 soldiers from the Army's 39th Infantry Division have been helping farmers in the Dunduk-myeon area of Geoje.

Volunteers from across the country have also lent a hand. In Geoje's Dunduk-myeon, about 40 members of the Daejeon Volunteer Fire Association cleared twisted greenhouse steel frames, while youth volunteers from Gurye-gun in South Jeolla Province traveled to the flooded Eogu village in Dunduk-myeon to sort through household belongings and haul away mud and debris.

"My village was hit by flooding before, and Geoje sent a lot of help back then," said a 31-year-old volunteer surnamed Kim. "I came because I wanted to repay that kindness." A 67-year-old resident surnamed Park, who worked alongside the volunteers clearing mud, said the young people who had traveled from afar and taken on the hardest tasks had been a great source of strength when mud filling every corner of her home had left her feeling helpless.

The province is wrapping up recovery work under the principle of preventing secondary damage, and is working with local governments to monitor data entry into the National Disaster Management System to ensure that statutory flat-rate disaster relief payments — including 3.5 million won ($2,530) for flooded homes — are disbursed promptly.

Using disaster relief funds, the province is also covering actual costs for the 675 displaced residents (356 households) who have not yet returned home, including accommodation at 70,000 won per night, meals at 9,000 won per serving, and bathing facilities at 10,000 won per day. Ahead of the central government's joint damage survey on Thursday, the province also plans to request that additional areas of Tongyeong be designated as special disaster zones.

Governor Park Wan-su said the province was taking thorough steps to ensure that not a single case of damage — particularly among elderly residents on islands and in rural areas — would be missed during the central joint inspection team's verification process. "We will spare no administrative support until affected residents have fully returned to their daily lives," he said.