[Anchor]

Residents of an apartment complex in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, which was damaged by a landslide, are gradually returning home. However, inconveniences persist due to delays in recovery efforts. With water, electricity, and gas supplies cut off, normal living conditions are virtually impossible. To make matters worse, controversy surrounding external accommodation subsidies has only added to the confusion among residents.

Reporter Kim Su-yun visited the scene.

[Reporter]

At the apartment complex in Geoje where three residents were killed or injured by a landslide.

Residents who have been living in shelters since the landslide are briefly stopping by their apartments to pack their belongings.

Before full-scale safety inspections can take place, the mud and debris must first be cleared away.

Because it remains uncertain how long this cleanup will take, residents are moving only their essential belongings to the shelters first.

It is hard to predict when they will be able to return home permanently.

[Should I take my autumn clothes...]

In another apartment building that suffered relatively minor damage, emergency safety evaluations yielded favorable results, allowing some residents to return home. However, inconveniences remain, such as the lack of gas service.

[Kim Ok-hwa / Resident of the damaged apartment: We have to take cold showers because the gas is cut off. We are very anxious, wondering what will happen if it rains or if a typhoon hits again.]

Another apartment complex that suffered flooding is currently cut off from electricity and water.

[Resident of the apartment facing water and power outages: The air conditioning doesn't work, but we can endure the heat a bit. The hardest part is that the elevators don't work, and we can't even use the restroom.]

The Geoje city government is providing lodging expense subsidies so that flood-affected residents can use external accommodations.

However, according to government guidelines, the support fund is capped at 70,000 won per household regardless of family size. As a result, some residents who find it difficult to secure family-sized accommodations within that budget have no choice but to stay in shelters while enduring various hardships.

[Evacuee: If you go to a motel these days, isn't it more than 50,000 won per person? There's cigarette smoke, a musty smell of mold, and it's hard to even take a shower.]

As recovery work is proceeding more slowly than expected, more delicate and tailored support for the affected residents appears to be necessary.

(Photo & Video Coverage: Jung Kyung-mun, Video Editing: Park Na-young)