[Anchor]
Recovery operations have begun in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, which suffered casualties due to record-breaking torrential rain. At this very hour, over 200 citizens are spending the night in temporary evacuation shelters, and given the immense scale of the damage, it is expected to take a long time to return to daily life.
First, we have a report from KNN reporter Hyojung.
[Reporter]
This is Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, where a torrential downfall of 954 mm battered the region over three days.
As the rain has subsided, recovery efforts have started in various places.
In a village covered in mud and debris, residents are busy shoveling away the soil.
A shortage of equipment is posing major difficulties.
[Song Man-su / Head of Watchi Village, Geoje: We haven't had a single piece of equipment since yesterday. We are currently unable to carry out recovery work because there is no equipment. We need to find the cause and figure out what steps should be taken.]
Restoration work is also in full swing at the landslide site.
Soil and trees that poured down from the mountain slope are mixed across the road.
The space has narrowed significantly, making it difficult for equipment to move in and out.
The torrential rain that fell in a short span caused the hillside to collapse, pushing mud all the way to the front of the road.
This is also disrupting vehicle traffic.
The entire city of Geoje, hit by a water bomb, struggled against muddy water all day long.
[Seo Jin-gyo / Head of Forestry Division, Geoje: Because soil and debris overflowed onto the road, we are focusing on clearing them. Once emergency recovery is completed, we will go through a detailed investigation.]
As many as 245 displaced residents have yet to return home.
They spent a sleepless night in temporary evacuation shelters.
Filled with anxiety, they can only worry about how much longer they will have to stay here.
[Lee Jung-soon / Okpo-dong, Geoje: I wish I could go back quickly. I'm so anxious and this situation is uncomfortable; I just want to return home as soon as possible.]
Fire authorities carried out approximately 1,780 safety measures over four days.
About 60 houses collapsed or were buried under piles of soil, and confirmed crop damage spans over 364 hectares.
(Video by Park Young-jun, Kim Taeyong / KNN)
Hyojung, KNN
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