Heavy snow leaves villages powerless and markets in ruins

[Anchor]

Due to the heavy snowfall, power outages and water supply disruptions have followed, leaving many people suddenly losing their homes.

Restoration work has begun in the cold, but it seems it will take time to return to normal life.

Choi Hye-rim reports.

[Report]

Thick snow continues to fall between the darkened houses.

Since the night of Nov. 27, 15 households around Namhansanseong in Gyeonggi Province have been without electricity and water, leaving the village empty.

The power lines leading to the village could not withstand the weight of the snow and have snapped, lying abandoned on the road.

Residents over 80 years old have moved to the village hall, but some residents are enduring the cold while waiting for restoration work without leaving their homes.

[Kim Ho-wan/Gyeonggi Gwangju City: "The boiler isn't working. Cooking is difficult, everything is cold, and it's just a matter of sleeping for a bit. Because it's like sleeping in a cold room."]

Metal structures that fell from the building's exterior have crushed a truck, and an air conditioning outdoor unit is precariously hanging between the sagging power lines.

Due to the roof collapse, market operations have been suspended.

Customers had to turn away empty-handed.

[Min Byeong-sook/Gyeonggi Anyang City: "I need to buy ingredients every day to prepare, so it's quite frustrating."]

Since it seems to take time for restoration, Anyang City plans to secure alternative sites for resuming business.

Inside the market where the ceiling has collapsed, merchants are moving busily.

They are looking for products that can still be sold, but there are many items that need to be discarded.

[Kim Jin-hyuk/Dokkaebi Market Merchant: "We are processing all these perishables. Since we have to throw them away, we can't sell anything, so there is no revenue at all."]

Uiwang City has begun the work of demolishing a ceiling structure about 100 meters long due to concerns about further collapses.

Gyeonggi Province has announced that it will provide 30.1 billion won in financial support for emergency restoration and relief for disaster victims.

This is KBS News, Choi Hye-rim.