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 [Image]      [Editorial] Loopholes in Anti-flood Steps    [Image] [Image]
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 [Image]      08/07(±Ý) 17:15
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 [Image]      Korea remains very vulnerable to flooding. This summer's
 [Image]      flooding has caused untold grief for many people. In just a
 [Image]      few days, more than 100 summer vacationers, mostly in the Mt.
 [Image]      Chiri resort, were found dead or remain missing, and nearly
 [Image]      200 others are dead or missing, in Seoul, Kyonggi-do and
 [Image]      other provinces.
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 [Image]      The heavy rainfalls, which lasted for several hours beginning
 [Image]      around midnight Tuesday in the Seoul area, inundated main
 [Image]      streets and even part of Seoul's subway system in addition to
 [Image]      lowlands. Three months ago, the subway was shut down for two
              weeks due to the flooding of one subway line in northeastern
              Seoul after a rainfall of only 70mm.

              The citizens of Seoul should be dissatisfied with the
              lukewarm measures taken by the metropolitan government to
              control flooding. The Seoul city administration increased the
              number of officials on night duty in its anti-calamity
              situational room around midnight Tuesday, and further
              augmented the number of officials to fight floods around 8:30
              a.m. Wednesday, the following day. But, the officials'
              augmentations came after the floods had already taken place.

              City hall earlier promised to operate its anti-calamity
              headquarters around the clock during the June-October period,
              a season in which administrative efforts to prevent flood and
              storm damage are vital. The anti-flood task team is charged
              with checking the drainage facilities thoroughly, especially
              in low-lying districts that are prone to flooding from time
              to time. The task force should be ready to mobilize more than
              20,000 public servants to combat floods whenever they occur.

              But, to our knowledge, no emergency measures were taken this
              time. Questionable is what function was played by the
              anti-flood facilities which were newly installed with the use
              of special budgets. Starting in September of 1990, when the
              capital city underwent a big flood, the city administration
              reportedly implemented a comprehensive anti-flood package,
              which called for increasing the number of drain pumps and
              improving the sewage and flood control systems, particularly
              in the lowlands and alongside rivers and streams.

              However, what happened was that the drains, which are too few
              in number and too old, allowed foul water to inundate streets
              and subway tracks. One of the big loopholes in the
              metropolitan infrastructure is that water can permeate even
              the subway, our most important mass transit system.

              Drastic measures need to be taken to efficiently control
              flooding. To this end, the central and local governments
              ought to check the sewage and overall drainage systems across
              the country. There is a critical need to carefully supervise
              all civil works projects in which drains and other
              underground facilities are put in place. More rigid punitive
              steps are suggested to deal with those responsible for
              slipshod work, the very cause of disasters which could be
              either prevented or lessened.

              In the face of miserable disasters largely caused by
              neglectful contractors and public servants, the importance of
              timely, accurate weather forecasts cannot be overemphasized.

              Since 1988 the nation has suffered an annual average of 255.5
              billion won in property loss, in addition to the deaths of
              260 people and some 99,000 survivors victimized by storms and
              floods.

              In this scientifically advanced era, our country should
              invest more in the improvement of weather forecasting devices
              being used by the Korea Meteorological Administration.
              Investment in meteorological projects has been found to bring
              forth economic efficiency, which accounts for as much as 20
              times the invested amount. In light of El Nino and other
              unusual meteorological phenomena that have inflicted enormous
              damage on many people throughout the world, there is a dire
              need for our nation to take prompt action toward equipping
              its meteorological administration with sophisticated weather
              forecasting facilities.

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                           (C) COPYRIGHT 1998 THE HANKOOKILBO