It has been confirmed that none of the 641 temporary prefabricated housing units supplied by the local government in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, where some temporary modular homes were washed away due to recent extreme downpours, were equipped with anchor bolts to secure the houses.

The city of Andong explained that this was a measure considering the rapid move-in for victims right after last year's large-scale wildfire and the characteristics of temporary structures.

According to the "Current Status of Safety Reinforcement for Temporary Prefabricated Housing (Anchor Bolts, etc.)" compiled by North Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday (July 22), out of 1,935 temporary prefabricated housing units across five cities and counties in the province, 732 units lacked anchor bolts in Andong, Uiseong, Cheongsong, and Yeongyang.

In Andong, all 641 temporary prefabricated housing units currently occupied by displaced residents were found to have no anchor bolts installed.

In Uiseong, anchor bolts were missing in 37 out of 150 occupied units; in Cheongsong, 20 out of 443 units; and in Yeongyang, 34 out of 44 units.

The city of Andong explained that immediately after last year's wildfires, concerns were raised over the spread of infectious diseases due to victims staying in shelters for long periods, leading them to determine that residents needed to move into temporary housing as early as possible.

An Andong official stated, "At the time, we considered temporary housing to be provisional structures to be dismantled after being used for several months, and the most important thing was to have disaster victims move in as soon as possible, even a day earlier."

The official continued, "During the installation process of the prefabricated houses, there were structural difficulties in installing anchor bolts while pre-making the foundation floor. Even after installation, the dimensions of the foundation concrete and the prefabricated houses did not match, making them difficult to secure," adding, "After comprehensive discussions incorporating experts' opinions, we decided not to install them."

The official also added, "With each prefabricated house weighing between 6 and 7 tons, we judged at the time that there would be no particular problems," and "We could not foresee extreme torrential downpours like this."

Uiseong County also stated that some temporary housing units could not be fitted with anchor bolts due to the rapid supply process right after the wildfires.

An official from Uiseong County said, "It was not a budget issue, and at the time, we did not fully consider the necessity of installation."

In contrast, Yeongdeok installed anchor bolts across all 657 temporary prefabricated housing units currently in use.

An official from Yeongdeok County stated, "In accordance with Ministry of the Interior and Safety guidelines, we reviewed the matter from the initial stage of installing the prefabricated houses in preparation for disasters and constructed anchor bolts."

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's "Guidelines for the Operation of Temporary Residential Prefabricated Housing" stipulates that standard design drawings should be closely followed during manufacturing and installation, but does not explicitly mandate the installation of anchor bolts.

An official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said, "The management authority for temporary housing lies with local governments," adding, "We are inspecting overall matters such as flood prevention so that the recent displacement and damage involving temporary housing do not recur."

Following damage where some temporary prefabricated housing units were flooded or displaced due to recent heavy rainfall, North Gyeongsang Province plans to utilize disaster relief funds to reinforce safety for temporary houses lacking anchor bolts.

It is estimated that approximately 73.2 million won will be required to install the anchor bolts.

An official from Andong city said, "We will conduct a full survey targeting temporary housing units currently in use, and then devise reinforcement plans such as installing anchor bolts."

(Photo: Yonhap News)