Seoul City’s emergency response system receives a call nearly every 10 seconds, with bombing and terrorist reports on the rise ahead of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, officials said Thursday.
According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Emergency Operations Center on average receives a call every 10 seconds, and one for a health emergency every 76 seconds. Calls for rescue and fire come in every 13 and 14 minutes, respectively.
Officials also say they are on high alert after receiving four reports of suspected bombs and terrorist activity in March alone.
The entire nation and particularly Seoul has been bolstering security ahead of the summit on March 26-27, as leaders from 53 countries and four international organizations will participate in the event.
Over the past 10 years the center has received over 30 million calls, and through the years officials have noticed reports of fires have diminished while calls for health emergencies and rescue have surged.
According to officials, the center is not short of prank calls as well, with 1,072 in 2011.
“I am feeling a little down, can you send a firefighter to play the flute for me,” is what one caller asked for.
“I need to move my dresser from the living room to the bedroom, can you send a firefighter please,” said another, as quoted by the center officials.
Officials report that most prank calls are made from public telephones making it difficult to trace the caller.
By Robert Lee (
robert@heraldcorp.com)
