Fire Engines Nationwide Mobilize for Worst Drought... All-Out Support Through Today

[Anchor]

Fire engines from all over the country have gathered in South Gyeongsang Province, which is suffering from a severe drought. They are scheduled to supply water to rice paddies and provide necessary living water over a two-day period through today (the 13th).

For our first news today, reporter Kim su-yun brings us the details.

[Reporter]

Forty fire engines are packed tightly into a parking lot in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province.

Following the government's issuance of a national firefighting mobilization order the evening before yesterday, 200 fire engines and 400 personnel from 16 city and provincial fire headquarters nationwide have assembled in South Gyeongsang Province.

[Kim Young-gwan / Senior Inspector, Prevention Division, South Gyeongsang Fire Headquarters: The purpose of the national firefighting mobilization order is to overcome the limitations of regional firefighting capabilities and provide support at the national level.]

The fire engine you see behind me has the word Hoengseong written on it.

Fire engines gathered from all over the country, including Hoengseong in Gangwon Province and Seoul, are supplying water to the drought-hit areas in South Gyeongsang Province.

The mobilized firefighting forces have been distributed across 14 jurisdiction fire stations in South Gyeongsang Province, with the largest number—40 fire engines—deployed to Miryang, where the reservoir storage rate has dropped to 25%, the lowest level in the nation.

Firefighters are repeatedly drawing water from urban streams and other sources, moving to nearby agricultural land or reservoirs, and carrying out water supply operations.

[Kim Wan-gyeom / Firefighter, Icheon Fire Station, Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters: We are assigned water sources for each vehicle, and then we go to pick up the water, come to the water supply location, and spray it. I think we just kept repeating that.]

This marks only the second time a national firefighting mobilization order has been issued due to a drought, following Gangneung last August when the reservoir storage rate dropped to 13%, making the operation especially meaningful for the Gangneung firefighters deployed this time.

[Cho Seok-du / Fire Inspector, Gangneung Fire Station, Gangwon Fire Headquarters: We left at 3 a.m. (3 a.m.?) We received a lot of help last year, so being able to return the favor is rewarding and feels good. My heart feels a bit more at ease.]

While it has been provisionally estimated that 2,121 hectares of agricultural land in South Gyeongsang Province have suffered damage due to the drought and heatwave, approximately 4,700 tons of water were supplied for agricultural use yesterday alone.

[Park Sun-i and Yoon Hye-ok / Miryang City, South Gyeongsang Province: It breaks our heart. In this heat. (The firefighters) keep going up and down several times a day to supply water.]

The firefighting forces mobilized from across the country will carry out emergency water supply support operations in various parts of South Gyeongsang Province through today.

(Video by: Kyungmun | Design: Lee Ga-jin | Footage courtesy of: Miryang City and Gimhae City)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.