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“Safe This Summer”: Busan Metropolitan City Holds Kick-Off Meeting for Preemptive Preparedness Against Summer Natural Disasters

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it held the first Kick-Off meeting for preemptive preparedness against summer natural disasters on April 3 and will fully activate its preemptive response system ahead of the summer disaster countermeasure period (May 15–October 15).

To this end, on March 25, the city established a preemptive preparedness TF inspection team led by Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk, involving 13 offices, bureaus, and headquarters, 16 districts and counties, and 4 corporations and public institutions, and began advance inspections by sector.

The meeting, presided over by Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk, was attended by participants from the TF inspection team, including 13 offices, bureaus, and headquarters, 16 districts and counties, 4 corporations and public institutions, as well as related organizations such as fire and police authorities. It was conducted in conjunction with a preemptive preparedness inspection meeting hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

In particular, the meeting focused on discussing key directions for summer natural disaster preparedness and preemptive measures for major disaster-vulnerable areas.

This year, the city plans to designate six major risk types of storm and flood damage reflecting regional characteristics and strengthen the establishment of preventive measures and intensive inspections by type.

• ●The six major risk types: landslides and slopes, river disasters, underground space flooding, coastal overtopping, large construction sites, and strong winds/building winds

To manage these six major risk types, the city will implement key measures including integrated situation management and provision of disaster information through “Busan Safety ON,” intensive identification of areas at risk of casualties and designation of priority management zones with inspections led by heads of offices and bureaus, expansion of preventive infrastructure in disaster-prone areas, reorganization of control and evacuation standards and enhancement of evacuation execution, and expansion of citizen participation in disaster prevention.

First, starting in May, the city will officially operate the “Busan Safety ON” integrated disaster and safety information service, which will manage and provide citizens with comprehensive disaster information across six fields, including urban flooding, earthquakes, and landslides.

Second, for safety management by each of the six major risk types, the city will conduct a full-scale survey to identify areas at risk of casualties. Among these, high-risk areas will be designated as priority management zones, where heads of offices and bureaus will carry out on-site inspections and intensive management.

Third, the city will comprehensively strengthen safety infrastructure for summer disaster prevention. Safety inspections of steep slopes, previously conducted by district and county officials, will be reorganized into outsourced inspections by specialized institutions to enhance expertise. Additionally, all manholes within priority management zones will be equipped with fall prevention facilities by June.

Fourth, the city will reorganize control and evacuation standards for disaster-prone areas and establish evacuation plans in April, including the prior designation of priority evacuation targets and support personnel for residents who have difficulty evacuating independently. It will then strengthen on-site operability through face-to-face education for evacuation targets.

Fifth, citizen participation will be expanded to eliminate risk factors in daily life. The “Resident Safety Inspection Request System,” through which residents can directly identify and apply for inspections of hazards, will be promoted through various media. In addition, participation by citizens, including local voluntary disaster prevention groups, will be strengthened in joint flood response field drills with related organizations to be conducted in April, thereby enhancing evacuation execution capability in actual disaster situations.

Based on the outcomes of the discussions, the city plans to establish the “Comprehensive Measures for Summer Natural Disasters” in May. Under the leadership of Mayor Park Heong-joon, inspection meetings and on-site inspections will be conducted to finalize preparedness for summer natural disasters before entering the official countermeasure period.

Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk stated, “As disasters are becoming larger and more complex, thorough preemptive preparedness is more important than ever to prevent casualties,” adding, “We will focus on identifying and resolving risk factors in advance and on building a response system that functions effectively in real situations by inspecting evacuation systems for residents in disaster-prone areas.”