The national firefighting mobilization order issued for South Gyeongsang Province, where the drought has been prolonged, has been extended. As water supply support continues not only for fields but also for livestock farms, even military units are stepping in to make all-out efforts to overcome the drought.

Reporter Kim Su-yun has the story.

[Reporter]

On today (the 13th), the second day of the national firefighting mobilization order, 200 fire engines gathered from across the country supplied more than 7,600 tons of water to fields throughout South Gyeongsang Province.

About 20 vehicles from the South Gyeongsang Fire Headquarters also joined the water supply support.

In Haman, the Army deployed 15 water supply vehicles and about 40 troops to help resolve the drought.

[Choi Seong-shik / Commander, Hapcheon-Haman-Uiryeong Battalion, 39th Infantry Division, ROK Army: These are vehicles used for military operations and CBRN defense support during wartime. Water supply vehicles have been provided to support public livelihood.]

As water gushed like a waterfall into the dried-up waterway, farmers could not take their eyes off it.

[Jung Chang-baek / Haman-gun, South Gyeongsang Province: Water has been gushing out for about 15 days. It feels like my chest is finally cleared.]

However, water shortages are worsening due to the prolonged drought.

With Hamyang entering the agricultural water drought "caution" stage today, the entire South Gyeongsang Province has now entered drought stages.

As Uiryeong and Changnyeong, which were previously at the "alert" stage, were upgraded to the "serious" stage, the number of areas under the "serious" stage increased to five.

The average reservoir water level in South Gyeongsang Province remains at 32.8%.

Requests for water supply are also pouring in for drinking water at livestock farms.

More than 20,000 pigs live in the livestock farm visible next to me.

As drinking water for these pigs became scarce, firefighters who completed rigorous quarantine procedures stepped up to provide water support.

[Kang Byeong-su / Firefighter, Prevention Division, Yangsan Fire Station: We mostly provide water support to places like fields, and livestock farms are rare. Coming out to the field, the amount of water needed is huge and the situation seems much more serious than expected.]

Ultimately, the National Fire Agency has decided to extend the national firefighting mobilization order, which was originally set to end today, for the time being.

The Navy, Air Force, and Korea Forest Service also plan to provide water support soon.

The firefighting authorities plan to decide whether to lift the national firefighting mobilization order by examining precipitation and reservoir water levels if the drought situation improves.

(Video by: Jung Kyung-moon)