The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced that it will activate the first stage of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as of 7:30 a.m. on the 4th. This is in response to a heavy snowfall advisory issued mainly for the Jeolla region and Sejong City.
The government has raised the heavy snowfall crisis alert level from 'attention' to 'caution.'
Crisis alerts are elevated in the following order: attention, caution, warning, and severity, with the Emergency Response Level of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters increasing from levels 1 to 3.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, it is currently snowing at a rate of about 3 cm per hour in areas where heavy snowfall advisories are in effect. Snow is expected to accumulate more than 30 cm in inland areas by the 6th.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters urged enhanced safety measures to prevent secondary damage from additional snowfall in regions affected by damage from snow during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Acting Minister of the Interior and Safety, who leads the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, 'I hope that citizens avoid approaching vulnerable facilities at risk of collapse due to the heavy snow, and refrain from excessive snow removal operations, paying attention to personal safety.'