Incheon City is providing some 2,300 bottles of water to protect the health of residents of jjokbang (single-room slum housing) as the heat wave drags on day after day. The measure is part of an intensive summer protection program aimed at low-income elderly residents who are vulnerable to heat-related illness because of their poor living conditions.
 [코리안투데이] Bottled water for heat-wave support being delivered to the Incheon Jjokbang Counseling Center © 장형임 기자 |
Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) announced that it is actively carrying out protective activities—including the provision of bottled water and supplies and on-site patrols—to help jjokbang residents get through the summer safely amid the continuing heat wave.
On July 27, through the Incheon Jjokbang Counseling Center, the city plans to deliver some 2,300 bottles of 500㎖ water in phases to about 200 jjokbang households in the area. As the heat wave grows prolonged, the city decided to give priority to bottled water in order to help with the most urgent need—hydration—for jjokbang residents, most of whom are elderly. Given that jjokbang units easily heat up indoors due to their lack of cooling facilities and high density, the water supply is regarded as a basic yet practical measure to prevent dehydration, which can readily lead to heat-related illness.
Along with this, the city is also regularly delivering sponsored items donated to the counseling center by public institutions and private organizations and groups—such as senior kits, heat-wave and infection response kits, nutritional supplements, food, and cooling pads—to support residents through the summer and to help prevent heat-related illness.
As of the end of June, 207 households and 244 people were living as jjokbang residents in Incheon. From June through September, together with the relevant district offices and the counseling center, the city is pursuing summer protection measures including welfare check visits through rounds, free medical examinations, provision of cooling supplies, and operation of heat shelters. In June, it conducted safety inspections of electrical facilities with the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation and, for three households deemed unfit due to risks such as electrical leakage, requested cooperation from the relevant district offices so that corrective action would be taken.
The city is also strengthening field-centered prevention activities. On the 16th, the city conducted a joint on-site patrol of the jjokbang village together with the Jemulpo-gu Office and the Manseok-dong and Gaehang-dong administrative welfare centers, directly checking on residents and providing guidance on how to act in preparation for the heat wave. Rather than stopping at the provision of supplies, the approach has relevant agencies inspect the site together, with the aim of detecting crisis situations early.
Park Seong-sun, head of the city’s Welfare Policy Division, said, ‘A heat wave can be an even harsher disaster for jjokbang residents in poor housing conditions than for ordinary citizens,’ adding, ‘We will continue to strengthen on-site inspections and communication and cooperation with relevant agencies, and do our utmost to protect and support vulnerable groups.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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