In preparation for Soulik, the municipality of Haenam-gun operated a group chatroom on a social media website in which more than 130 employees at all local government levels were included. (image: Yonhap)
HAENAM, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — When typhoon Soulik was at its peak on August 23, a few urgent requests were posted on a social media platform’s group chatroom by members who are civil servants at the Haenam-eup district office in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province.
The officials asked for help as trees in the area were about to collapse from the strong wind gusts, threatening the home and livelihood of a nearby resident.
Within 30 minutes, officials from the forest and greenery division of the municipality came to the rescue armed with a ladder.
A photo of workers sawing down the problematic tree was posted online.
Although it received a direct hit from the typhoon, the district of Haenam escaped relatively unscathed despite 207 millimeters of rainfall and strong wind speeds of 25.4 meters per second.
Critics say that preemptive emergency system and measures carried out in real-time via social media websites helped the area to avoid serious damages despite the severity of the typhoon.
In preparation for Soulik, the municipality of Haenam-gun operated a group chatroom on a social media website in which more than 130 employees at all local government levels were included.
The chatroom was used to update emergency situations in real-time and to discuss various restoration efforts.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
