Days of torrential rain have left farm roads and surrounding streets in Yongfang Village, Daliao District, Kaohsiung, completely submerged — bad news for local residents and road users alike.

• The farm road beside the paddy fields was swallowed by floodwater, leaving the road so unrecognisable that even residents of thirty or forty years could not make it out.
• Although cordon tape had been put up at the scene, two scooter riders strayed into the flooded area within ten minutes, their engines nearly stalling.
• Residents say the area "floods whenever it rains" and that this is nothing new; the village chief also said he has been powerless to improve the situation for years.
• Ko Chih-en, the Kuomintang's candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, visited the site to inspect the damage, saying flood control should not be judged by how much money has been spent but by whether residents' lives have actually improved.
• She argued that the farm irrigation channels and roads in Daliao and Linyuan, together with the surrounding water systems, need to be reviewed as a whole before a real solution can be found.

Outlook: Ko Chih-en will join councillors in raising the matter with the Irrigation Agency and the city's Water Resources Bureau, calling for expanded cordons and warnings as well as a comprehensive improvement plan — but until the rain stops, the flooding is likely to keep recurring.