중부 호우 피해,...정부, 특별재난 지역 건의 및 재정, 세제 지원<br /><br />As of Wednesday, heavy downpours have left 15 people dead, and 11 people missing in South Korea.<br />More than 15-hundred people have had to evacuate their homes.<br />With most of the damage concentrated in the central region, the government is considering designating the area as a special disaster zone.<br />Lee Kyung-eun has the latest.<br />The past five days of heavy downpours have left enormous damage across the central parts of South Korea.<br />One of the hardest hit areas is Chungcheongbuk-do Province, which has reported 5 deaths and 8 people missing since August 1st,... when torrential rain started pounding the region.<br />Four of them were fire fighters, who went missing while on duty.<br />In Chungcheongnam-do Province, the cities of Cheonan and Asan were slammed by hundreds of millimeters of rain.<br />In Gyeonggi-do Province, near Seoul, another eight people have died, and one person is missing.<br />As more damage is expected in the central region, the Prime Minister has proposed providing these areas with state funding by designating them as special disaster zones.<br />"I urge the Ministry of Interior and Safety to swiftly review the proposal of designating Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, and Gyeonggi-do provinces as special disaster zones."<br />Once approved, the plan will be carried out by the finance ministry.<br />It will provide immediate government assistance to all affected families while allocating an extra budget from the national treasury for the special disaster zone.<br />A new set of tax measures will be implemented to ease the financial burden on those affected by the flooding and landslides.<br />That includes, delaying the official tax payment date by 9 months ...and allowing a partial tax exemption if more than 20 percent of the person's property has been damaged.<br />Along with the financial policy, the prime minister also called on local governments to strictly abide by virus prevention measures in temporary shelters to prevent any COVID-19 outbreak.<br />More than 15-hundred people across the country are staying in such facilities as of Wednesday.<br />Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.<br />
