L.A. Wildfires Kill 11 People, Damage to 88 Trillion Won..."We need to prepare for a catastrophic situation."

11 dead, 150,000 evacuated..."Damaged KRW 88 trillion"
Wildfires Spread in Strong Winds and Drought...There is not enough water for fire fighting, so
"Low water pressure and water hoses have disrupted extinguishing work"
" catastrophic situation..."I can't handle the demand for water".

[Anchor]
11 people have been killed so far in wildfires such as the disaster that swept through LA in the United States, and the damage is estimated to exceed 88 trillion won.

Strong winds and drought are the main reasons,
Some point out that new preparations are needed for catastrophic situations that are becoming more destructive as climate change increases.

Reporter Park Young-jin reports.

[Reporter]
About a quarter of Seoul was burned as simultaneous wildfires spread around LA, USA.

a situation in which it is difficult to even count the dead accurately,
More than 100,000 people are still being evacuated, and economic damage is estimated to exceed 88 trillion won.

The biggest cause of out-of-control wildfires was strong winds.

[Brent Pascua / California Fire Department Commander: We've tried to put this fire under control amid hurricanes with fires everywhere]

On top of that, the vegetation, which has grown significantly due to heavy rains in the winter of 2022 and 2023, has dried up in recent months in a severe drought and has become a firewood for wildfires.

Authorities believe the Pacific Pelissades fire, which is the hardest hit, was also ignited by frictional heat caused by strong winds in the dry bush.

To make matters worse, the damage was further increased due to the lack of fire water, which is the core of the extinguishing work.

There were also reports that firefighters struggled with low water pressure and water-free fire hoses in fire hydrants.

But experts say the fire was like a disaster, and that it needed too much water to handle.

[Edith de Guzman / UCLA Water Resources Specialist: This is an unprecedented and very serious situation. Unfortunately, therefore, the urban system was either not equipped to respond to wildfires of this magnitude, or until now, I did not think that we should be prepared to this extent.]

He also pointed out that there is no water supply system anywhere in the world to respond to such a catastrophic situation, and that new standards are needed to prepare for the era of climate disasters.

I'm Park Youngjin of YTN.

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video: Han Kyung-hee