◈ March 6, 13:30, City Hall Disaster Response Headquarters Conference Room: Signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) for business cooperation between the City and four national research institutes (Korea Institute of Construction Technology, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and Korea Railroad Research Institute) for the demonstration of digital urban flood control technology.
This Letter of Intent for Business Cooperation includes provisions for ▲technology development in each institution's specialized fields ▲mutual data provision and sharing ▲demonstration of technologies for responding to urban flooding and geological disasters ▲establishment and operation of a working council.
The City plans to further enhance citizen safety by upgrading functions such as real-time risk detection, prediction, and evacuation route guidance in conjunction with "Busan Safety ON," and establishing a management system that responds to extreme weather conditions.
Busan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (the 6th) at 1:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters on the 15th floor of City Hall that it will sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) for business cooperation with the Korea Institute of Construction Technology, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and the Korea Railroad Research Institute for the "Development of AI-based Extreme Heavy Rain Response Platform Technology."
This collaboration was established to promote the successful field application of the National Science and Technology Research Council's convergence-type basic project*, "Development of Digital Urban Flood Control Technology for the Realization of a Flood-Safe City," by utilizing Busan City's disaster safety response capabilities and urban environmental characteristics as a basis for demonstration.
* (National Research Council of Science and Technology) Development of Digital Urban Flood Control Technology for the Realization of a Flood-Safe City: ①[Total research budget] Approximately 384 billion won (Ministry of Science and ICT) ②[Study period] 2025~2029 (5 years)
○ Kim Ki-hwan, Director of the City's Citizen Safety Office, and the heads of four national research institutes will attend today's signing ceremony.
Through this collaboration, the city plans to advance AI-based urban flood prediction and control technology, while also establishing a smart technology-based urban safety management system to proactively respond to extreme heavy rainfall intensifying due to climate change.
Previously, flood risk prediction relied on weather observation sensing equipment and weather information installed in some disaster-prone areas, which had limitations such as a limited observation range and the time required for analysis and judgment. Accordingly, the city expects to significantly expand the observation range by introducing 'AI-based closed-circuit television (CCTV) real-time rainfall analysis technology.'
In addition, urban data such as underground structures, water and sewage networks, and disaster history, which were previously managed separately by department, will be integrated to establish a foundation for a more rapid disaster response.
Furthermore, a system is established to predict flood depth and flood range in advance and automatically present response scenarios for each situation through hybrid prediction technology combining physical models and artificial intelligence (AI) and integrated 3D analysis of the surface, ground, and underground.
Through this, we plan to implement a full-cycle disaster management system extending from detection to prediction to simulation to response, and establish a foundation for preemptive response that identifies flood-vulnerable areas in advance.
The cooperation period is four years, and each institution will jointly conduct research and development and field demonstrations based on their respective technologies and expertise. Key areas of cooperation include: ▲technology development in each institution's specialized fields ▲mutual provision and sharing of data ▲demonstration of technologies for responding to urban flooding and geological disasters ▲establishment and operation of a working council.
Each research institution will pool its capabilities based on its respective expertise to promote technological advancement, while Busan City will provide urban data such as drainage networks, topographic and facility information, sensor data, and flood history. In addition, the plan is to verify the field applicability and effectiveness of the technology by conducting phased demonstrations centered on flood-prone areas.
The city plans to enhance real-time danger detection, prediction, and evacuation route guidance functions by linking with the existing urban safety integrated information service, "Busan Safety ON."
In particular, citizens will be able to receive flood risk information at the administrative district level more quickly, and check optimal evacuation route information in real time, along with guidance to refrain from approaching dangerous areas. Furthermore, substantial damage reduction is expected by shortening the duration of flooding through the rapid operation of retention and drainage facilities.
Furthermore, the establishment of an integrated platform will enable prior flood risk analysis during urban development, redevelopment, and large-scale construction projects, and is expected to contribute to the creation of 'flood-resistant urban infrastructure' in the long term.
Mayor Park Hyung-joon stated, “As unpredictable extreme rainfall becomes more frequent due to climate change, there is a need to shift the approach to urban flooding response to a more scientific and preemptive system,” adding, “We will do our best to protect the lives and property of citizens by establishing an urban flood prediction and response platform utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology.”
He added, “We will continue to enhance the urban safety management system by utilizing advanced technology and build a safe city of Busan where citizens can live with peace of mind even in extreme weather conditions.”