President Lee Jae-myung has declared Baeksu-eup in Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla Province, a special disaster zone following significant damage from record heavy rainfall.
Kang Yu-jeong, the chief spokesperson for the Blue House, announced on the 18th that President Lee made the declaration around 9 p.m. the previous day after a central joint investigation.
The Yeonggwang area experienced heavy rainfall from August 28 to September 1, with a particularly severe downpour of 344 mm on August 31, leading to total precipitation exceeding 500 mm over three days. This resulted in flooding of homes, businesses, agricultural land, and facilities.
According to preliminary estimates from Yeonggwang County, the total damage amounts to approximately 4.7 billion won, with Baeksu-eup suffering the most significant losses at around 2.746 billion won. Other affected areas include Beopseong-myeon, Hongnong-eup, Nakwol-myeon, and Yeomsan-myeon.
Declaring a special disaster zone allows for some recovery costs, which local governments would typically bear, to be covered by national funds, thereby reducing the financial burden. Affected residents will also receive indirect support, including deferrals on national and local tax payments and reductions in public utility fees.
Kang stated, "The government will finalize a recovery plan as soon as possible to help residents in the affected areas return to their daily lives swiftly."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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