Lee-anti-disaster task force Lee calls for formation of natural disaster task force By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday asked his government to organize a task force with civilian experts to revise the country's overall disaster prevention system to cope with unusual weather conditions. The call came after floods and landslides from record-breaking rainfall took more than 62 lives in the central part of the country last week. Experts in unison voiced the need to strengthen the current anti-flood guidelines for mountains, steep slopes, streams and new buildings since the Korean Peninsula is already feeling the influence of global climate change. "The Prime Minister's Office need to form a task force with related government offices and experts to discuss how to re-establish the country's anti-disaster guidelines because we may undergo unexpected disaster next year, too," Lee was quoted by his spokesman as saying in a Cabinet meeting. "We should establish scientific standards this time, escaping from the usual approach," the president said.