Days of torrential rain have turned Kaohsiung's Gushan 3rd Road into a river of muddy water — bad news for local residents and road users, and a sign of the gaps in flood management on hillside land.

• Heavy rain in the early hours of this morning flooded Gushan 3rd Road, turning the entire street yellow with muddy water that also flowed into homes on the opposite side.
• Potholes have opened up in the road surface, and a scooter rider has already fallen and been injured.
• Silt washing down from Shoushan has covered the road and pavement and blocked the pumping equipment's pipes, bringing the pumps to a temporary halt.
• Construction work at the adjacent Marine Corps base was scoured by the heavy rain, sending mud and rocks onto the road. Ko Chih-en has called on the military to carry out proper soil and water conservation.
• The military's soil and water conservation plan has already secured central government funding, and will involve building a check dam and a sedimentation and detention basin inside the base, with completion expected by the end of the year.

Outlook: Until the work is finished, any further heavy rain is likely to flood the same stretch of road again, so the city government and the military will need to have interim contingency measures in place.