Torrential Rains Leave Coastlines Buried in Trash; 5 Tons Cleared Daily, But End in Sight

[Anchor]

The scars of record-breaking torrential rains remain visible across Geoje and Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do. Along the coast, fishermen are struggling to clear piles of washed-up trash to aid recovery efforts, while remote island villages face even slower restoration due to limited access.

KNN reporter Choi Hyuk-gyu filed this report from the scene.

[Reporter]

Tree branches, discarded styrofoam, and plastics are tangled together all along the coastline.

This is the debris washed ashore by the heavy downpours.

Fishermen board boats to approach the coast and pick up the trash piece by piece.

This is a coastal area that is difficult to access from the land.

As you can see, trash is scattered all along the shoreline, leaving fishermen with no choice but to come in by boat to collect it.

Unable to fish because of the debris, they have had to put their livelihoods on hold.

[Lim Young-ki / Chairman, Geoje Coastal Trap Self-Governing Community: Due to the currents, plastic bottles, milk cartons, and various other household wastes are flowing into our fish traps.]

The Coast Guard has also stepped in to collect floating debris at sea.

They even deployed a pollution cleanup vessel typically used for oil recovery.

The marine debris collected in just a single day amounts to about 5 tons.

The wounds left by the heavy rain also hit the island village of Hansando in Tongyeong.

Poured mud and trees blocked paths used by residents.

Mounds of earth surged right up to the backs of houses.

Because it is an island, it is difficult to bring in recovery personnel and equipment, making it overwhelming for residents to handle on their own.

Recovery only truly began after the Coast Guard and Navy were deployed.

[Jung Soon-ja / Resident of Hansando, Tongyeong: It is just so grateful that they came in this heat to help us like this. There is no way to express how thankful we are anymore.]

The Coast Guard and Navy plan to continue providing recovery support centered around the coastlines and islands.

[Ok Hyun-jin / Chief of Tongyeong Coast Guard: We will actively support residents in remote island areas with difficult transportation by utilizing patrol vessels and other means to help them return to their daily lives.]

More personnel and equipment support is urgently needed for coastal areas and island villages that remain difficult to access.

(Video by: Ahn Myung-hwan, Kwon Yong-guk / KNN)

Choi Hyuk-gyu, KNN
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.