Extreme weather events become new normal

Scientists believe natural disasters, such as floods, heavy rains, earthquakes and extreme heat waves, will occur in Korea more frequently in the coming years. / Graphic by Cho Sang-won

Investing in disaster preparedness has become ever more important, expert says

By Jung Min-ho

Over the past year alone, people across Korea have experienced many once-in-a-lifetime natural phenomena, including the lowest temperatures in 15 years, the hottest summer in decades and the strongest earthquake in the nation's modern history. And who knows what's next?

Scientists may disagree on why such extreme weather events are becoming more common, but it is certain that Korea will not be an exception to this global phenomenon, Jeong Sang-man, president of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation (KSHM), said in an interview.

"We are living in a time when no one can tell what normal is any more," he said. "If the past is any indication, natural disasters, such as floods, heavy rains and extreme heat waves, will occur in Korea more frequently."

The damages that natural disasters can cause to a nation are enormous. The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 killed more than 15,800 people and washed away the homes of 230,000 people in Japan, causing financial losses of 300 billion dollars.

Korea has also had its share of devastating natural disasters. In 2002, Typhoon Rusa hit the country, killing 246 people and causing 5.8 trillion won ($5 billion) in financial damages, followed by Typhoon Maemi in 2003, which took the lives of 132 people and destroyed 4.2 trillion won in properties.

While the risks of more powerful natural disasters of various kinds have been increasing, little has changed in government policies for and people's attitudes toward them, Jeong said.

"The biggest problem with the government's response to natural disasters is that it focuses mainly on recoveries," he said. "For example, every time a major typhoon approaches Korea, the government tells people that the typhoon is coming and how strong it may be, but it barely talks about how they should act when it hits their regions. The result is unnecessary deaths and bigger financial damages."

On the other hand, when Hurricane Matthew was making its way to the United States in early October, state officials in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia urged two million people to flee their homes, with a dire warning that "the storm will kill you" if they stay.

"Both the Korean government and its people need to take such threats more seriously. This should be the first step," Jeong said. "Yes, a typhoon may not kill people. Yes, it may not be as damaging as it seems. But everyone must be prepared for the worst. High vigilance and readiness can make the difference between life and death."

He believes the government should allocate more resources to being prepared for potential risks and minimizing damages rather than to recovering from what has already happened. "When it sees obvious threats, it should declare emergencies without hesitation," he said.

For education, one of the urgent tasks is to make concise versions of national guidelines for action in times of emergencies. "No one would read the current guidelines, which are too long and lack practical information," he said.

"Only a few weeks ago, Koreans have experienced the most powerful earthquake in recent memory, but still, few people know they should not evacuate to schools, which are among the most vulnerable structures in times of seismic activities. Thus, many people rushed into school buildings after feeling the quake, which could have killed them," he said. "Without proper education, I think they will make the same mistake if the next quakes hit the country. And the day will certainly come ― tomorrow or some years later."

Jeong Sang-man, president of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, speaks during a recent interview.
/ Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho

‘We have money, but do we want to spend it on saving lives?'

It will take a great deal of resources to adopt technologies to strengthen buildings, improve drainage systems, make new policies and educate people. "But the good news is that Korea is a rich country. So, all it takes is political will to invest more in saving lives," Jeong said.

Rich nations tend to suffer bigger property damages but fewer casualties in times of natural disasters, compared with developing nations. However, the rate of annual casualties by such events has changed little in Korea over many years, despite its impressive economic growth.

"To my students, I often give this example: if the same powerful storm passes through China, Korea, Japan and the United States, the number of casualties may be 100, 20, 5 and 2, respectively" said Jeong, who is also a professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Kongju National University. "I see the number as an indication of how much a country values people's lives."

Bureaucracy kills more lives

The sinking of the Sewol ferry and the epidemic of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) highlighted the problem with the nation's bureaucratic disaster response system.

Though the two incidents can be defined more as man-made disasters, the problem applies to any type of disaster that requires immediate response, Jeong said.

"In short, the current system forces people to first report to the control tower all the way up before responding to a situation. But for emergencies, they should do the opposite," he said. "The central government asks for fast reports and has too much power in handling almost everything. I find this wrong."

He argues that more authority and resources should be given to regional-level governments that encounter real-time situations since "seconds could mean lives in a state of emergency."

"When an earthquake occurs, for example, P-waves are usually felt first before S-waves. So, the organization that detects the quake should first warn people as fast as possible before it hits them," he said. "The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) was the first organization to detect the 5.8-magnitutde earthquake in Gyeongju last month. But much time was wasted, as it reported to the Korea Meteorological Administration and to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security. This is why it took nine minutes for people in the region to receive warning messages about the quake."

If the KIGAM had more authority in responding to such events, people might have received the messages faster. And it was fortunate that the quake did not kill anyone this time.

"What changed after the Sewol ferry disaster and the MERS outbreak? Not much," he said. "Over the past few years, nature keeps warning us that we all must change. I think we really have to, before it's too late."

Established in 2000, the KSHM is a research association for areas such as disaster prevention, preparedness, countermeasure and recovery. With 3,600 members, it is the nation's largest academic association of disaster and safety professionals.