Firefighters race to save drought-hit farms in South Gyeongsang

“We left at 5 a.m. to get here, and the drought seems even more serious than what I saw on the news,” Bang Jae-ho, a fire lieutenant with the Icheon Fire Station in Gyeonggi, said after arriving in Miryang, South Gyeongsang.

Bang traveled around 280 kilometers (174 miles) with the fire station's water tanker to Daejeon Village in Miryang on Wednesday morning to help deliver water to the drought-stricken area.

Along with the water tanker Bang traveled with, two more water tankers from Gyeonggi and Gangwon arrived at the village's rice paddies, carrying 6,000 to 12,000 liters (1,585 to 3,170 gallons) of water drawn from the Miryang River. Firefighters immediately began spraying the rice paddies using fire hoses 65 millimeters (2.6 inches) wide, which are normally used to fight major fires.

Concerned that powerful streams of water could damage the rice plants, firefighters lowered the water pressure and sprayed the water across the paddies. Water slowly seeped into deep cracks in the parched soil, some wide enough for a finger to sink into.

“Some of the rice leaves have dried up and curled, and some have turned reddish as if they were scorched, but they can still recover if we give them water now,” Lee Gi-jun, head of Daejeon Village, said. “We are grateful that the fire trucks are providing some relief, even if only temporarily.”

Lee said the village desperately needed rain to ease the drought.

“The paddies need water every other day," said Lee. "But Deokgok Reservoir, which normally supplies the water, is gradually drying up and water is now released only twice a week. There is nothing we can do if it does not rain.”

A boat dock in Sammun-dong, Miryang, was crowded Wednesday with fire trucks filling their tanks with water from the Miryang River. Around 40 water tankers from Gyeonggi and Gangwon traveled continuously between the intake point and areas where the water was being supplied.

“Gangwon suffered a severe drought last year and received help from fire stations across the country, but this time we have come to South Gyeongsang to return the favor,” a firefighter from Hoengseong Fire Station in Gangwon said. “I hope rain comes as soon as possible and the drought is resolved.”

200 fire tankers deployed to South Gyeongsang

The government issued a national fire mobilization order late Tuesday, dispatching 200 fire department water tankers and 400 firefighters from fire headquarters in 16 cities and provinces to South Gyeongsang on Wednesday.

It marked the second time a national fire mobilization order had been issued because of drought, following one during the drought in Gangneung, Gangwon, in August last year.

Firefighting resources were gradually deployed from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 13 cities and counties across South Gyeongsang, including Miryang, Geoje and Uiryeong, where the agricultural water drought level was classified as “serious,” the highest level in the four-tier system.

As of 4 p.m., fire authorities supplied 2,503.5 metric tons of agricultural water in 351 operations across the affected areas. Fire trucks also sprayed 42 metric tons of water on roads and livestock facilities heated by the sun to lower temperatures.

The national fire mobilization order will remain in effect through Thursday.

Water levels at agricultural reservoirs in South Gyeongsang have fallen to about 33 percent of capacity, or 47 percent of the usual level. Cumulative rainfall over the past six months totaled 586.7 millimeters (23.1 inches), only about 60 percent of the usual amount.

Crops have continued to suffer damage, with some dying under intense sunlight and others drying out because agricultural water could not be supplied in time. Farmland where crop growth had been impaired totaled 2,121 hectares (5,241 acres) as of Wednesday, the provincial government said.

The South Gyeongsang provincial government activated its drought disaster and safety response headquarters on Tuesday and began supplying agricultural water by pumping river water, developing wells and deploying public water trucks in an effort to prevent crop damage.

Villages ration water at night

Household water supplies are also under strain. Some island and mountainous communities that are not connected to the regional water supply network are under scheduled water restrictions.

The restrictions are in place in 27 locations, including islands in Tongyeong and villages in Miryang, Geoje, Yangsan and Hadong, all in South Gyeongsang. These areas rely on small-scale water supply facilities using groundwater and other sources or on private wells.

“There are three valleys nearby, but they are now so dry that there is not a single drop of water,” Park Chang-ha, head of Anchon Village in Miryang, said. Water has been restricted from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the village since late last month.

“We store water in advance to use the bathroom at night and do our laundry and bathe during the day, but we are constantly worried because we do not know when the water might stop completely," Park added.

The provincial government is supplying drinking water and household water to the affected areas using bottled water and water supply vessels. If the drought persists, it plans to expand water deliveries and secure alternative water sources, including developing additional wells in areas at high risk of their existing water sources running dry.

BY AN DAE-HUN [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]