The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province is investing 215.7 billion won in damages from the July heavy rains and moving toward early recovery. The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province announced that it has finalized a recovery plan for damages caused by the heavy rains during the monsoon season from July 8 to 19 and is accelerating follow-up measures with the goal of distributing disaster relief funds before Chuseok using reserve funds.
According to the province, an average of 265mm of precipitation was recorded in Jeollabuk-do during the period, with 483mm falling in Hamra-myeon, Iksan-si, and 472mm falling in Eocheong-do, Gunsan-si. Eocheong-do, Gunsan-si, recorded 146mm of precipitation on July 10, the highest one-hour precipitation since meteorological observations began, causing significant damage.
The Jeonbuk Autonomous Province has finalized a recovery plan worth a total of 215.7 billion won in consultation with central government agencies including the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Of this, 23.3 billion won has been set aside for disaster relief funds for private facilities and 192.4 billion won for recovery costs for public facilities, of which 162.7 billion won will be supported by national funds (75.4%).
In particular, the four cities and counties of Gunsan, Iksan, Wanju, and Muju, which suffered major damage from this heavy rain, were selected as priority areas, and the four regions of Iksan, Wanju, Gunsan Seongsan-myeon and Napo-myeon, Muju Muju-eup, Seolcheon-myeon, and Bunam-myeon were declared special disaster areas, which increased the national budget (KRW 162.7 billion) share of recovery costs by 25.4% from 50% to 75.4%, significantly reducing the burden on provincial and local finances.
In addition, for the river improvement and restoration costs (4 cases, 114.3 billion won) that should have been implemented at 100% of the local government budget, 57.2 billion won was supported by the national budget, which significantly reduced local government budget.
The disaster relief fund of 23.3 billion won will be paid out to residents who suffered damage to private facilities before Chuseok. Of this, 3.5 billion won will be covered by the provincial government using reserve funds, and the province is seeking to expedite the payment through consultations with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition, additional support will be provided for damage to agricultural machinery and production facilities in accordance with the government’s temporary policy.
In addition, indirect support services are provided in 18 areas, including deferral of national tax payments, reduction of local taxes, and disaster recovery fund loans. In special disaster areas, indirect support services are additionally provided in a total of 30 areas, including reduction of health insurance premiums, reduction of electricity bills, and reduction of city gas bills.
Meanwhile, due to the heavy rain in July, a total of 26,622 cases of damage occurred in 14 cities and counties in the province, of which 26,187 cases of damage were recorded for private facilities and 435 cases for public facilities. The total damage amounted to 58.7 billion won, which is 18.5% of the national damage amount of 318.2 billion won. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Damage to private facilities amounted to 26,187 cases in 14 cities and counties, with 634 houses flooded, 2,266 ha of crops damaged, 115 ha of farmland buried, and 2,590 small businesses suffering property damage worth 19.8 billion won.
Damage to public facilities amounted to 435 cases in 5 cities and counties (Iksan, Gunsan, Wanju, Jinan, and Muju), including 43 cases in local rivers, 139 cases in small rivers, and 127 cases in small-scale facilities, with damage totaling 38.9 billion won.
The Jeonbuk Autonomous Province has currently completed emergency restoration of public facilities and plans to promptly begin restoration work by reflecting restoration costs in the 2024 main budget. In addition, in order to prevent similar damage in the future, the province plans to propose a local river improvement and restoration project to the government to improve the root cause of the damage and complete the project as soon as possible so that the damage does not recur.
Jeollabuk-do Governor Kim Kwan-young said, “We will urgently utilize the provincial reserve fund to quickly pay out disaster relief funds before Chuseok so that residents who suffered damage from the heavy rain can lead stable lives.” He also said, “In preparation for autumn typhoons, we will thoroughly prepare in advance, such as continuously conducting disaster-prone areas for forecasting and maintenance to prevent damage, and we will quickly restore damaged facilities to minimize inconvenience to residents.”
Queen Choi Ha Na Reporter
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2024-09-02 11:36:29