On the morning of the 31st, 50 firefighting water tank vehicles from across the country gathered in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. These vehicles were filled with water gathered from nearby cities and counties. As the drought situation in Gangneung became so severe that drinking water supply was at risk, firefighting vehicles rushed in from across the country within a day.
President Lee Jae-myung directed an immediate disaster declaration for the drought-stricken Gangneung region on the 30th. Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety declared a disaster in the Gangneung area at 7 p.m. the previous day.
The Korea Fire Agency issued a national firefighting mobilization order to support water supply in Gangneung. A total of 50 water tankers from across the country, including 12 from Seoul, 4 from Incheon, 12 from Gyeonggi, 6 from Northern Gyeonggi, 3 from Chungbuk, 5 from Chungnam, 7 from Gyeongbuk, and 1 from the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, gathered at the Gangbuk Public Stadium in Gangneung at 9 a.m.
The mobilization of firefighting vehicles was necessary due to the risk of a shortage of drinking water for Gangneung citizens. The water level of the Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87% of the tap water used in Gangneung, recorded 14.9% around 7:40 a.m. that day. This was a 0.4 percentage point drop from the previous day.
Authorities had considered the 15% water level as the critical threshold for supplying drinking water. Gangneung City will enter into restricted water supply measures, shutting off 75% of its water meters. Until now, only 50% had been shut off. The Obong Reservoir has also ceased the supply of agricultural water.
The firefighting vehicles gathered in Gangneung will fill their tanks at nearby hydrants and pour the water into the Hongje Water Treatment Plant, supplying 2,500 tons of water by 8 p.m. as the sun sets. Starting on the 1st of next month, they plan to replace them with larger water tankers, supplying 3,000 tons per day.