[Anchor]
The drought in the Honam region is equally severe. As reservoirs begin to show their bottoms, farm households in the area are also on high alert to secure agricultural water.
Reporter Hong Seung-yeon has the story.
[Reporter]
The bottom of Okjeongho Lake, which supplies water to the Honam Plain, is completely exposed.
The ground is severely cracked like a turtle shell, and weeds are thriving over it.
The waterways surrounding Bungeo Island, named for its fish-like shape, have all dried up.
A suspension bridge is currently laid right above my head.
The place that should normally be submerged in water has dried up due to the drought, and now it is dry enough for people to walk across.
Out of the 470 million tons of water the lake can hold, only 84 million tons remain.
That is at the 18% level.
[Kim Young-mok, Operations Manager at the Sumjin River Dam Office, Korea Water Resources Corporation: As of today, 43% is normal. In terms of water level, it is about 10 meters lower than in an average year.]
[Lee Dae-geun and Kim Mi-seon from Gunsan, North Jeolla Province: (Have you ever seen it this dry?) No, it has been a while since we came, but I don't think it has ever been this dry.]
As a "severe" drought stage has been issued for the Seomjin River Dam, securing agricultural water has gone on high alert.
Nearby fields and paddies, which are entering their growing season, have completely dried up.
[Choi Young-gu, Farmer: We should probably view this as having ruined the farming for this year. Especially right now, it is the flowering season for beans and the heading season for rice. Large amounts of water are desperately needed at this time...]g
The Korea Rural Community Corporation has broken out water pumps for the first time in 13 years.
As it becomes difficult to receive water supplies from the dam, water that has already been used is being pumped back up to be recycled as agricultural water.
[Lee Young-kwon, Water Resources Management Department Manager at the Dongjin Branch, Korea Rural Community Corporation: We have installed water pumps and are pumping it to recycle it because only about 70% of the amount that needs to be supplied is coming down...]g
The situation is the same in South Jeolla Province and Gwangju.
The average reservoir water storage rate for Jangseongho Lake is around 60%, but it currently lingers in the 26% range.
Crop damage is a major concern, but without rain, there are no viable measures.
The hearts of farmers looking at their crops are burning black day by day.
(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video by Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing by Chae Cheol-ho)
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