▲ Firefighters from the Yongin Fire Station under the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters and the Miryang Fire Station fill up the bone-dry Deokdong No. 1 small reservoir in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, on the afternoon of the 13th.
The government has newly established the "Southern Region Drought Response Task Force" to cope with the intensifying drought centered around the southern regions, including South Gyeongsang Province and South Jeolla Province and Gwangju.
The response team is an upgraded organization of the existing "inter-agency joint drought task force (TF)," with participation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Korea Meteorological Administration, K-water, and the Korea Rural Community Corporation.
The response team plans to cooperate with national disaster management logistics companies such as CJ Logistics, HANJIN, BGF Logistics, and Lotte Global Logistics to transport available equipment such as water trucks, water pumps, and pumps to the southern region, and request local governments nationwide to support drought response resources in the southern region.
In addition, to minimize inconvenience for residents in drought-affected areas and crop damage, it plans to invest available budgets such as the special grant tax for disaster safety to promote water supply measures, and encourage voluntary participation in water saving by residents through public action guide promotion and campaigns.
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yunho-jung said, "As the drought prolongs, it is more important than anything else to provide the resources needed in the field in a timely manner," adding, "Centered around the response team, we will mobilize all available resources of related agencies to provide practical support that residents can feel."
According to the Agricultural Drought Management System, as of yesterday (the 13th), the reservoir water level in South Gyeongsang Province stood at 32.2%, which is 45.5% of the average year level (70.8%).
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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