HamAhn District is known to be frequently submerged. How was it like this year?
I’ve lived here in HanAhn District for my entire life, so I know much about the areas. There are many flooding areas in HanAhn. The damage was minimized this year unlike the previous years.
Do you actually feel that the water level has gone down?
This monsoon’s rainfalls were not like any other times in the past. If dredging had not been done to NakDong River, the final flood stage must have been escalated a big time. Usually NakDong River is not capable to hold out all the water in times of a typhoon or an intensive torrential rainfall. Nam River and NakDong River meet at DaeSan-Myeon, JangAm-Ri and from there water refluxes back along Nam River when the water level of NakDong River rises. That is the reason why areas near Nam River had been submerged in the past, but this time there was no water reflux. It means that NakDong River held up all the water from upstream of NakDong River thanks to all that dredging. Water retention scale has become extended as well. As a matter of fact, the flood stage in HamAn District has gone down by 3.5cm.
Some insist that the Four Rivers Restoration Project has aggravated flooding. What is your opinion on this claim?
There are many submerged areas in NakDong irrelevant to water from the River. There must be areas in other districts like here. I don’t believe it is good to exaggerate the situation as such. In the past, there still was the damage from convulsion of nature. Bupsu-Myeon, EungAm-Ri is also naturally recognized as frequent submerged area because of its low-lying ground. In the past, there were lots of flooded areas in HamAhn. This year, the damage was much less.
Gyeongsangnam-Do NakDong River Special Committee stated that there have been damages due to the Four Rivers Restoration Project and there are more damages yet to come. What is your opinion on this assertion?
NakDong River Special Committee held a presentation session in mid-July. At that time, the local residents were not pleased the way it was carried out. They refused to be stirred up by all the fuss they were making but only wanted to wait and see the result a year after. As a result, it was proven this summer that there was no damage from flooding.
