GEOJE — The city of Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province is extending the deadline for reporting storm damage to private property from the 28th of this month to the 4th of next month, as flooding across the entire city has delayed filings. The deadline for surveying damage to public facilities was also pushed back from the 25th to the 28th.
According to storm damage figures and response measures compiled by South Gyeongsang Province on the 26th, the emergency recovery rate as of 6 p.m. the previous day stood at 72% in Geoje (1,254 of 1,752 cases) and 97% in Tongyeong (946 of 975 cases). Progress was particularly slow for landslides, forest roads and small business owners.
Restoration of power and water cut off by flooding of underground areas is under way at nine apartment complexes covering 2,370 households. Including 53 households (119 people) in Building 104 of an apartment complex in Okpo-dong who evacuated because of a landslide, along with residents of complexes without power or water, 2,245 households (4,495 people) have been unable to return home.
Reporting the damage is a required step to receive various forms of support, such as disaster relief funds and tax reductions, and must be done within the deadline. Eligible cases include flooded or damaged homes, small business premises, agricultural and livestock facilities, and farmland and crops — the full range of damage to private property caused by the heavy rain.
Reports can be filed online through the Safety Korea 24 portal or at township and neighborhood community service centers. Because it is difficult to assess the scale of damage once repairs are made, supporting evidence such as photos and videos of the site and damaged items should be gathered before any restoration work.
On this matter, six Geoje city council members from the People Power Party called on the city to secure enough time for reporting so that all residents' damage can be registered. They also argued that an emergency supplementary budget should be drawn up to eliminate blind spots in government support.
The council members said the city must "prepare bold financial measures commensurate with the situation to help residents who have lost the foundation of their lives to the disaster return to daily life and to prevent a recurrence," proposing the use of an integrated fiscal stabilization fund and the issuance of local government bonds.
