[Anchor]
Recovery operations are in full swing along the southern coast of Gyeongsangnam-do, which was battered by record-breaking torrential downpours. However, with more than 500 evacuees still unable to return home and some schools even delaying the start of the new semester, it is expected to take more time for daily life to return to normal.
Reporter An Huijae has the story.
[Reporter]
Recovery work is kicking into gear across various areas of Geoje and Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do swept by extreme heavy rain.
A village covered in mud and debris.
Residents are busy shoveling out the dirt, but complaints continue that the work is far from easy due to a shortage of equipment.
[Song Mansu / Head of Watch Village, Geoje]: There is not a single piece of equipment. We are currently unable to carry out recovery work because we lack equipment.
The Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government went all-out on recovery support for roads and water and sewage systems today (the 19th), deploying around 80 excavators and dump trucks.
Some 400 Army troops also rolled up their sleeves at the flood-damaged sites.
An apartment complex in Okpo-dong, Geoje, where mudslides triggered in the early morning hours claimed one life and left two people injured.
Many residents managed to escape just in time, but having lost their homes, they still remain in temporary shelters.
Following emergency safety inspections conducted on five apartment buildings, evacuation orders were lifted for only two of the buildings this morning.
As of 1:00 p.m. today, an estimated 280 households and over 500 people in Geoje and Tongyeong alone remain unable to return to their homes.
With flooding and water leaks hitting around 50 schools in the area, some schools have postponed the start of classes, making disruptions to academic schedules inevitable.
While the government has provided 3.0 billion won in special local grants and 40 million won in disaster relief project funds for emergency recovery and support for evacuees, city authorities stated that they plan to strengthen quarantine response systems and provide medical support, noting that the risk of infectious diseases and food poisoning remains high due to the scorching heat.
(Video by: Kang Si-woo, Park Young-jun, Kim Tae-yong KNN | Video Editing: Park Na-young)
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