Climate, Energy and Environment Ministry sends vice minister to inspect Geoje floods

The Climate, Energy and Environment Ministry said its First Vice Minister Geum Han-seung would inspect flood damage in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, after record rainfall damaged rivers, water systems and power infrastructure.

Geoje received 968.1 millimeters of rain from Aug. 15 to 19, with 509.9 mm falling in six hours on Aug. 17, including 124.5 mm in a single hour.

Flooding, levee losses and bank damage affected 27 locations along 11 rivers, including Gohyeoncheon. The downpour also flooded the public sewage treatment facility in Geoje-myeon, temporarily halting sewage treatment.

Road washouts damaged water pipes, while fallen trees and landslides damaged power transmission and distribution facilities. Power outages at 11 locations affected 4,541 households. In Haksan-ri, Dundeok-myeon, water supplies were interrupted after road washouts damaged pipes, though the ministry said water service is now operating normally after emergency support including water trucks and bottled water.

Geum was scheduled to review recovery plans at the Gohyeoncheon and Dundeokcheon rivers, then inspect the flooded sewage facility in Geoje-myeon and the water-outage site in Haksan-ri. At the sewage facility, incoming wastewater will be temporarily treated through primary sedimentation before discharge, with recovery being expedited through stabilization of the biological treatment process.

The ministry said it used its integrated flood-control situation room to identify flood-hit locations and alerted Korea Electric Power Corp. to expected outage locations before residents reported them. All temporary outages were restored within two days.

"We will work with relevant agencies and devote every effort to recovery so residents affected by the record downpour can return to normal as quickly as possible. In particular, we will use all available resources to swiftly restore facilities directly linked to daily life, including rivers, water and sewage systems, and power infrastructure," Geum said.