The city of Osan in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 6th that it has requested Gyeonggi Province to declare a “special disaster area” to facilitate rapid restoration and support for areas affected by heavy snowfall. The record snowfall from November 26 to 28 accumulated to 38cm, causing significant damage to farmers, small business owners, and companies in eight neighborhoods.
The total estimated damage so far is 1.8 billion won, with 1.6 billion won concentrated in the Cho-pyeong-dong area where numerous greenhouses and livestock sheds were severely damaged. The extent of the damage is such that it is difficult for individual farms to recover without government support.
As a result, Mayor Lee Gwon-jae visited the heavily affected Cho-pyeong-dong area, where greenhouses and livestock sheds are concentrated, to discuss the difficulties in recovery and the need for prompt support.
Mayor Lee stated, “Osan City is fully mobilizing its administrative capabilities for recovery efforts and will request a special disaster area declaration to alleviate the difficulties faced by farmers and ensure quick recovery.”
A special disaster area declaration is a system that provides additional state support to local governments to alleviate the financial burden resulting from large-scale disaster damage. In designated areas, a portion of the costs for restoring facilities is additionally funded by the national government. Additionally, affected residents in special disaster areas receive various types of aid, including reductions in health insurance premiums, electricity bills, city gas bills, district heating bills, communication fees, and spectrum usage fees, among others.