Ministry of the Interior and Safety to provide monthly rent and living expenses to 107 households in prolonged evacuation after August torrential rains

[Financial News]  Among the disaster victims who left their homes after last month's torrential rains, 107 households that cannot return immediately because of damaged homes and other reasons will receive support for monthly rent and living expenses while staying at relatives' homes. Most residents who evacuated because of power and water outages in apartment buildings have returned home as restoration work was completed, but 127 households, or 226 people, are still staying at lodging facilities or relatives' homes.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) announced on the 18th that it would provide support for returning home and housing costs to disaster victims and temporarily evacuated residents affected by the torrential rains in August. A total of 2,895 households, or 6,176 people, evacuated from Busan, Gyeongsangnam-do and other areas after last month's rains. As of the 16th, 127 households, or 226 people, were staying at private lodging facilities or relatives' homes across four cities and provinces and seven cities, counties and districts, including Geoje in Gyeongsangnam-do.
Most temporarily evacuated residents who had left their homes because of flooding or power and water outages in apartment buildings have returned home as restoration work was completed. The problem is the disaster victims who cannot return home in the short term because their homes were damaged or slopes were washed away.
MOIS decided to provide housing cost support through local governments to 107 households in prolonged evacuation in Geoje and Tongyeong-si. The 54 Geoje households whose apartment buildings were damaged by slope loss will receive monthly rent support until restoration is complete. The 31 Geoje households and 22 Tongyeong-si households whose homes were flooded or damaged will receive either monthly rent or partial support for living expenses while staying at relatives' homes. They may also receive support if they move from a relative's home to a rented property.
After disaster victims rent and move into vacant homes or rooms, local governments will pay rent averaging 500,000 won per month when they submit claims for the expenses. The support began in September and will continue until the victims return home or restoration of their homes is completed.
The government also provided 190 million won in disaster relief project funds to Geoje and Tongyeong-si to supply relief goods, including bottled water, where large-scale temporary evacuations occurred. Accommodation and meal costs for temporarily evacuated residents are also being covered through the disaster relief fund.
Earlier, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) finalized a recovery plan for the damage caused by the August rains on the 16th and decided to allocate a total of 230.8 billion won for restoration. In areas that suffered power outages after power-receiving equipment was flooded, 6 billion won will be provided toward equipment replacement and repair costs.
The government is also working with local governments to process disaster relief payments for residents whose private facilities, including homes, were damaged by flooding so that the payments can be made before Chuseok.
Kim Kwang-yong, head of MOIS's Disaster and Safety Management Office, said, "We will speed up restoration so that even one more household can return home before Chuseok, and we will work with local governments to ensure that housing cost support is not delayed for households that have no choice but to remain in prolonged evacuation."


[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter