Torrential Rains Leave Debris Piling Up Like Waves; Cleanup of 5 Tons Daily Overwhelming

[Anchor]

The scars of record-breaking torrential rains remain scattered across Geoje and Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do. Along the coasts, fishermen are struggling to clean up the washed-in debris and recover, while restoration efforts are lagging in remote island villages that are difficult to access.

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

[Reporter]

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

These are the debris washed ashore by the heavy rains.

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

This is a coastline that is difficult to access from land.

As you can see, garbage is strewn along the shoreline, and fishermen have to come by boat to collect it.

With fishing made difficult by the debris, they have had to put their livelihoods aside.

[Lim Young-ki / Chairman, Geoje Coastal Trap Autonomous Community: Due to the currents, many household wastes such as plastic bottles and milk cartons are getting inside the fishing traps.]

The Korea Coast Guard has also stepped in to collect trash from the sea.

Even spill response vessels usually used for oil recovery have been mobilized.

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

The wounds of 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 hard for residents to handle the situation on their own.

Restoration only barely began after the Coast Guard and Navy were deployed.

[Jung Soon-ja / Resident of Hansando, Tongyeong: It is truly so grateful that they came in this heat to help us like this. There is simply no more to be said about that.]

The Coast Guard and Navy plan to continue providing restoration support focusing on coastal areas and islands.

[Ok Hyun-jin / Chief of Tongyeong Coast Guard: For residents in remote island regions with difficult transportation, we will actively support them with patrol vessels and other means to help them recover their daily lives.]

More manpower and equipment support is desperately needed for hard-to-reach coasts and island villages.

(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.