Acting President Han Duck-soo has ordered state agencies to prepare for a worst-case scenario in relation to the massive wildfires in the nation’s southern areas and respond accordingly, as the fires are unfolding in a way that defies existing prediction methods.
The acting president gave the directions Wednesday while presiding over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul.
Han stressed preemptive evacuations, thorough control measures and strengthened monitoring activities to prevent further damage and called for active cooperation from citizens.
Noting the increase in the number of displaced people, the acting president pledged administrative and financial support for people who have been forced to flee the fires.
Han asked fire and forest authorities, police, the military and local governments to work together and make all-out efforts to swiftly put out the fires.