Rain clouds recede for now, but calls for help ring throughout the nation at this “golden time”

Room Full of Mud: Choi Byeong-du, a resident of Beolbang-ri, Gamcheon-myeon in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, cleans out his house covered in mud after a landslide caused by the torrential rain. Yecheon, Kwon Do-hyun

“July 19-21 when the rain clouds temporarily withdraw is the golden opportunity for flood recovery.”

As the monsoon rain lets up, a line of people are offering to help flood recovery operations nationwide. Soldiers of the 35th Infantry Division rolled up their sleeves and dropped beads of sweat in a neighborhood damaged by the flood in Mangseong-myeon, Iksan in Jeollabuk-do on July 19.

The vinyl greenhouses in the Hwasan district of Mangseong-myeon had been flooded up to waist-high levels at one point and now crops like watermelon and lettuce were rotting inside. Mixed with the oil from farm machinery and sewage, they released a foul odor. But it didn’t seem to bother the soldiers, as they were busy removing the oil using sorbents inside and outside the greenhouses.

The 35th Infantry Division had prepared 18,000 sheets of sorbents on Wednesday. Shin Yu-rye (69), a farmer, said, “This year’s harvest is all ruined,” and let out a sigh. Yet she added, “Still, we are grateful for everyone trying to help us.”

The soldiers also helped clean out flooded homes where the water had receded. They carried out trash and household items like a refrigerator, a washer and a wardrobe--not a single one intact--from a chaotic site, which was once the home of Jeon Yong-ja (81).

Kim Heon-su, the communication battalion commander of the 35th Division who directed the recovery operation Wednesday, said, “We will do our utmost to help residents who suffered serious damage from the flood recover and return to their daily lives as soon as possible.”

Residents and volunteers were also busy with recovery near the Geumgang Villa in Okryong-dong, Gongju in Chungcheongnam-do. This neighborhood was pounded by 629.5mm of rainfall since July 14, and apartments and villas were submerged in water. One person died after she was swept away by the water.

In the Gongju region, 1,054 people including 605 soldiers, 302 volunteers and 147 civil servants, and 366 vehicles and equipment, such as excavators and dump trucks, were mobilized in the recovery work for four days from July 16 to 19. But there was still a huge shortage of manpower. According to the forecast by the Korea Meteorological Administration, the monsoon rains are to resume this weekend and spread nationwide. So, there is no time for slow recovery work.

Kim Gu-tae, secretary general of the Gongju-si Volunteer Center said, “In this region alone, where over a hundred homes were flooded by the rain, more than two hundred volunteers are helping to speed up recovery work, but there are still many places that we haven’t been able to help.” Kim said that they were seeking help on social media as well as the web portal, 1365 Volunteer Portal, to find more volunteers.

A helping hand is much needed for recovery in Cheongnam-myeon, Cheongyang-gun in Chungcheongnam-do as well. A levee collapsed in this area, forcing a large number of people to evacuate. They are currently staying at Cheongnam Elementary School. Volunteers from the Chungcheongnam-do (Chungnam) branch of the Korean Red Cross are helping provide meals and wash clothes, but the amount of work has exceeded their capacity.

Jeong Myeong-sun, head of the Cheongyang district association of the Korean Red Cross Chungnam branch said, “A wide area was flooded due to the torrential rains that fell nationwide, and it is not easy finding help (for recovery) like volunteers.”