[Exclusive] Landslide-prone area system effective with only 2% matching rate

Severe rains from June 16-17 led to landslides in 196 locations across Gyeongnam's Gijeong and Tongyeong cities as of June 26. However, the matching rate between designated 'landslide-prone areas' and actual landslide sites is only 2%, raising questions about the effectiveness of the landslide-prone area system. Local governments are collecting reports of non-injury damage from one-line cities and counties.

According to the latest figures from Gyeongnam, 196 landslides occurred in Gijeong's 157 locations and Tongyeong's 39 locations. Despite landslide prevention efforts, only 4 out of 196 landslide sites in Gijeong and Tongyeong were designated as landslide-prone areas. An apartment in Gijeong's Dongbu-myeon was hit by a falling hillside, leaving one person dead and two injured, while 119 residents remain in shelters.

However, this location was not included in the landslide-prone area list. Tongyeong's Hanam-myeon experienced 8 landslides, but no landslide-prone areas were designated within the entire ward. Some areas designated as landslide-prone, such as the Do san and Gwang do districts in Tongyeong, saw their landslide incidents not occur within the designated areas.

The Forest Service explained that the landslide-prone area system is a preventive measure to manage areas with high landslide risk. Instead of just assessing how many landslides occurred in landslide-prone areas, the agency emphasizes the importance of preventing damage in these areas. The agency also plans to continue improving landslide risk prediction models using artificial intelligence, with the ultimate goal of minimizing casualties in landslide disasters.

Professor Park Jae-won of Inha University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering noted that many factors, such as human development activities, can trigger landslides. However, not all development leads to landslides, making it inappropriate to generalize.