The government will inject a total of 230.8 billion won to restore damage from the heavy rainfall that hit areas including Geoje and Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province from the 15th to the 18th of last month.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced today (the 16th) that following deliberation, it finalized last month's rain damage at 80 billion won and decided on a restoration plan containing these measures.

At the time, the heavy rain caused damage across 22 cities, counties, and districts in 7 cities and provinces nationwide, with damage concentrated particularly in Geoje and Tongyeong.

Casualties included 1 death and 2 injuries, while 1,396 households experienced home inundation and 163 landslides occurred.

Among the total restoration cost of 230.8 billion won, disaster relief funds to support private facility damage amount to 21.3 billion won, and public facility restoration costs total 209.5 billion won.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety preferentially distributed 6.6 billion won in national funds for disaster relief on August 28 to Geoje and Tongyeong, which were proclaimed as special disaster zones.

Disaster relief funds paid to affected residents are set at 3.5 million won per household for home inundation in accordance with relevant regulations, while restoration costs for agricultural and forestry crops and facilities are calculated based on the damaged area.

Disaster relief funds will also be provided under the same standards to areas that did not meet the criteria for national financial support.

Public facilities will be restored focusing on returning them to their original state, but 61.3 billion won will be invested in improvement restoration for 4 small streams in Geoje and Tongyeong, where large-scale damage occurred, to eliminate the causes of the damage.

For areas that suffered power outages due to the flooding of receiving electrical equipment, 6 billion won will be provided as partial funding for the replacement and repair costs of the equipment.

Residents affected in general disaster zones will receive 25 forms of indirect support, such as deferred payment of national taxes, while 13 additional forms of indirect support, including reductions in electricity and telecommunication bills, will be added for special disaster zones.

Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung said, "We plan to promptly disburse national subsidies so that affected residents can spend the Chuseok holiday a bit more comfortably, and we will cooperate with local governments to distribute disaster relief funds before Chuseok."

He added, "We plan to focus government administrative capabilities on the swift daily recovery of the affected regions by pushing forward without a hitch with fundamental restoration measures, such as improvement restoration for large-scale damaged facilities, and by conducting consulting for the early promotion of disaster restoration projects."

(Photo: Yonhap News)