South Korea expands winter disaster alerts and preemptive road treatment

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced a comprehensive winter natural disaster plan to protect citizens from heavy snow and extreme cold through March 15 next year.

The government will expand the distribution of emergency disaster text messages to 227 municipalities nationwide starting November 23. Previously, this service was only available in 101 areas including the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungnam, and Jeonbuk.

Authorities will also strengthen road safety by requiring the application of deicing agents 1 to 2 hours before snow begins to fall. This change follows a traffic accident on the Seosan Yeongdeok Expressway in January where a lack of preemptive deicing contributed to the incident. To ensure a steady supply, the government increased its deicing agent stockpile to 1.19 million tons and pre-selected three companies with proven supply capabilities.

Local governments can now enter into urgent private contracts with these specific firms to avoid delays caused by low-bid suppliers who failed to deliver materials on time. The plan includes measures to protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure. The government will manage 64,494 cold weather shelters, including 342 emergency shelters and 217 emergency beds for homeless people and residents of shantytowns.

Officials will also monitor 9,240 disaster-prone areas for structural collapses and provide support to 5,154 vulnerable people living in vinyl houses or mountain villages through a volunteer evacuation support group.