Busan City to Mount All-Out Response to Heavy Snow and Cold Waves This Winter... Focused Management of Disaster-Prone Areas

[Financial News] Busan City will mount an all-out response to minimize damage from winter natural disasters such as heavy snow and cold waves.
The city said it would hold a meeting at the City Hall Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the afternoon of the 13th, chaired by the city's administrative vice mayor, to review preparations by each agency for winter disasters.
About 40 people will attend the meeting, including representatives from city departments, bureaus and headquarters; 16 districts and counties; the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency and Fire and Disaster Headquarters; public corporations and agencies; the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office; the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency; the Busan Regional Postal Service Office; BNK Busan Bank; and KT.
This winter, the city is focusing its heavy snow measures on strengthening situation-management capabilities, prioritizing vulnerable areas and implementing proactive snow-removal measures.
First, disaster and safety situation rooms in all districts and counties will monitor conditions around the clock to detect signs of snowfall in advance and respond quickly. The city will also monitor areas at risk of icing within its limits and the paths of snow clouds outside them, activating a proactive snow-removal system that includes applying de-icing agents in advance of snowfall.
The city has completed comprehensive inspections of 489 winter disaster-prone areas and plans to conduct repeat inspections regularly.
The city has secured 1,042 tonnes of de-icing agents, equivalent to 192% of the stockpile standard, and plans to undertake proactive snow removal by operating automatic brine spraying systems at 12 locations and snow-removal staging bases at 29 locations.
To respond to cold waves, the city operates a mobile situation room for cold wave preparedness around the clock, with all relevant agencies participating. It is also operating 1,351 cold wave shelters and 283 “Our Neighborhood Climate Shelters” run through public-private partnerships. When a cold wave advisory is issued, the city will check in daily on 32,000 older adults in need of care, while stepping up assistance for homeless people and safety management at outdoor worksites.
The city also plans to increase the number of shelters for mobile workers from the current seven to eight by the end of this month, and to operate an emergency-room surveillance system for cold-related illnesses linked to 35 medical institutions starting in December.
The city plans to draw up and implement a comprehensive plan for winter natural disasters in 2026–2027, incorporating the matters reviewed at the meeting.
[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter