SPOTLIGHT 25/09/03 Catholic charity delivers aid to drought-hit South Korean city

[성기화 요셉]

Gangneung City’s Obong Reservoir’s water levels are rapidly declining, forcing authorities to restrict water supplies

Members of Catholic Medical Angels pose for a photograph after delivering 10 tons of drinking water bottles at Gangneung City in the Diocese of Chuncheon, South Korea, on Sept. 3. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: September 05, 2025 11:44 AM GMT

Updated: September 05, 2025 04:01 PM GMT

A Catholic Church-based group of medical professionals in South Korea has dispatched 10 tons of bottled water to a drought-hit city to help its residents.

The Catholic Medical Angels, a social service group under the Catholic University’s Catholic Medical Center on Sept. 3 dispatched the water bottles to parishes in the drought-stricken Gangneung area of the Chuncheon Diocese.

The coastal city of Gangneung is currently facing an impending water crisis as the water level in the city’s Obong Reservoir is rapidly declining.

The reservoir, which supplies 87 percent of the city’s tap and industrial water, stood at 13.2 percent on Sept. 5, a decline of 0.3 percent compared to the previous day, The Korea Herald reported.

This is below the minimum threshold of 15 percent required for drinking water supply, which has forced the authorities to resort to rationing water given to the residents.

Min Chang-ki, director of the Catholic Medical Center, stated that his organization would continue to monitor the situation at Gangneung and provide additional measures as needed.

“Though it is a small effort, we hope it helps the citizens of Gangneung and that this severe drought is resolved as soon as possible,” Min said about the aid that they sent.

The Catholic Angels have earlier provided humanitarian aid during other disaster situations.

In April 2024, they delivered donations to areas affected by wildfires in Gangwon Province, and in July this year, they supported victims displaced by torrential rains.

This year alone, they have continued multiple emergency relief efforts, extending a helping hand to neighbors in need.

Gangneung’s water crisis has been further exacerbated after expected rainfall in the region forecast for Sept. 4 skirted past the region, while nearby towns received as much as 50 millimeters of precipitation.

The Gangneung region received only 2.1 mm of rainfall, which was far too little to raise water levels at its main reservoir.

The city has received just 359.1 millimeters of rain over the past six months, South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety reported.

As Gangneung city officials braced for further water decline over the days, with water levels said to drop below the 10 percent level, the administration said that it would impose further water restrictions from Sept. 6.

Mayor Kim Hong-kyu warned that water supply will be cut off to 123 facilities with water storage tanks exceeding 100 metric tons in the Hongje Water Purification Plant’s service area, The Korea Herald reported.

The exclusion zone includes 113 apartment complexes — home to some 45,000 households — and 10 large lodging facilities such as hotels.

The government has stated that water will be delivered to these buildings by trucks operated in coordination with fire authorities.

City officials said they would implement time-based rationing, cutting water supply from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., followed by alternate-day supplying of water if conditions deteriorate further.

The officials have also initiated a massive supply operation with helicopters from the Korea Forest Service and military units dispatched to dump water into the reservoir while trucks and pipelines continued round-the-clock deliveries of water from nearby sources.

On Sept. 4, the officials channeled 26,416 tons of water into the reservoir and purification plants through truck deliveries and pipelines connected to the nearby Namdaecheon River.

The city aims to bring in some 29,000 liters of water to the city’s reservoirs, The Korea Herald reported.

According to reports, the water shortage is not limited to Gangneung City alone.

Neighboring cities of Samcheok, Jeongseon-gun, and Taebaek in Gangwon Province are also facing impending water shortages, The Korea Herald reported.

*-- This is a translated and edited version of the report that first appeared in the Catholic Times of Korea on Sept. 5.