On the 6th, the government decided to grant long-term residency status to three Indonesians who helped evacuate residents during a wildfire in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, despite the risks.
Lee Han-gyeong, Vice Administrator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (Ministry of the Interior and Safety), noted during a central headquarters meeting held at the Government Sejong Center that they decided to grant special contributor residency status to the three Indonesians who assisted elderly people in difficulty during this wildfire. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to those who helped save the lives of their neighbors without caring for their own safety.
The Deputy Minister added, 'We will prepare measures against landslides and debris flows in wildfire-affected areas without delay before the monsoon season arrives.' He also stated, 'We will establish secondary disaster prevention measures to prevent landslide occurrences in areas affected by wildfires during the upcoming summer.'
According to the central headquarters, the Korea Forest Service is expected to complete urgent assessments of areas at risk of landslides by the 12th and will promote emergency recovery efforts such as installing tarpaulins by the end of June based on the results.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will form a task force (TF) composed of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Forest Service, local governments, and experts to prepare joint measures to minimize debris disasters. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to prioritize evacuation targets by considering the conditions of residents at elderly care facilities vulnerable to wildfire evacuation and will secure potential facilities and transport means for each resident in advance to ensure rapid evacuation.
As of 6 a.m. that day, there were 3,193 evacuees in temporary shelter, of whom 2,462 had moved to temporary accommodation facilities. Relief supplies distributed to the evacuees, including emergency relief sets, blankets, essentials, and food and beverages, approached 1 million items, and psychological support numbered 8,542 cases. The total amount of donations collected from the public through organizations like the Disaster Relief Association was 92.51 billion won as of the 4th.
Since the Central Joint Support Center began operations on the 27th of last month, a total of 1,723 cases of support for evacuees have been registered, with 'infrastructure and housing recovery' (484 cases), followed by relief for evacuees, agriculture, loans, insurance, and legal assistance. Recovery work for broadcasting, communication, and water supply and drainage facilities has been completed, with the electricity recovery rate reaching 99.9%.