Recently, local governments in Gyeongnam, Chungnam, and Gyeonggi, which have suffered damage from the rains over the past five days, have requested the government to declare a 'special disaster area.' The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is currently estimating the damage amount to declare a special disaster area. If Gyeongnam's Sancheong and Gyeonggi's Pocheon are designated, it would be the second designation this year.
According to relevant departments on the 21st, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (Central Headquarters) under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is conducting a preliminary damage survey to declare a special disaster area due to heavy rain.
The declaration of a special disaster area can be requested by the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who is the head of the Central Headquarters, when the damage amount is determined to exceed a certain threshold based on the results of this survey. Municipalities need to report damage of more than 5 billion won to meet the declaration requirements, while cities, districts, and counties must exceed 500 million won. Afterward, it will be finally declared with the President's approval.
If a local government is declared a special disaster area, it may receive a portion of local government tax used for recovery from the national budget. Also, residents in those regions can receive not only the 18 item support that general disaster areas can receive, such as deferment of national and local government tax payments and reductions in water and sewage fees but also an additional 12 items of support, including health insurance premiums and reductions in communication and electricity fees.
Particularly, this year the declaration procedure is expected to be faster than in previous years. The procedure for declaring a special disaster area consists of stages: ▲ request for declaration and recognition ▲ deliberation and resolution by the Central Safety Management Committee ▲ the head of the Central Headquarters → request to the President for declaration ▲ presidential approval and declaration. However, due to the amendment of the Disaster and Safety Management Act in April, the 'deliberation and resolution by the Central Safety Management Committee' procedure can be omitted if time is of the essence. President Lee Jae-myung also instructed to "push for the rapid declaration of a special disaster area" the day before.
A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official said, "We plan to finish the damage survey and request the declaration of a special disaster area as soon as possible."
Municipalities in Gyeongnam, Chungnam, Gyeonggi, and Gwangju, where casualties occurred due to the heavy rain, have already requested the declaration of disaster areas from the Central Headquarters. According to the Central Headquarters' tally as of 9 p.m. the previous day, 18 people have died and 9 are missing due to the heavy rains from the 16th to the 20th. In addition to casualties, reports indicate substantial damage to roads, dwellings, and farmland, with river facilities collapsing.
In cases such as Sancheong in Gyeongnam and Pocheon in Gyeonggi, where casualties were concentrated, there is a possibility they may be declared a special disaster area for the second time this year. Earlier, in March, Pocheon's Idong-myeon was declared a special disaster area due to a fighter jet mishap, and Sancheong in Gyeongnam was already designated because of a forest fire.
Some municipalities affected by heavy rain are also conducting emergency fundraising activities using the hometown love donation program. The online donation website for the hometown love donation program, "Hometown Love e-Um" and "WeGive" has posted 'Emergency Fundraising for Heavy Rain Damage Recovery' from Gwangju's Buk-gu and Nam-gu. A total of about 1.5 billion won has been raised for these two municipalities in four days. Municipalities seeking emergency fundraising for heavy rain damage can register the 'designated donation' project on the platform to raise funds. Donors can receive gifts from the respective region after making a donation.