Days of extreme rain have flooded villages across Pingtung County in southern Taiwan, and the main pumping station cannot keep up — bad news for residents in low-lying farming and fish-farming areas.

• Heavy rain from a low-pressure band and southwest winds dumped over 1,000mm in some mountain areas, sending floodwater rushing downstream.
• Linbian, one of the worst-hit towns in the 2009 Typhoon Morakot disaster, is flooded again because its pumping station cannot drain water fast enough.
• The county has asked the central government for about NT$500 million to expand that station to 2.5 times its current capacity.
• Upstream development has made rainwater arrive faster than the drainage system, built in 2008, was designed to handle.
• Other towns like Fangliao and Xinyuan lack proper drainage networks, so mobile pumps and army units are on standby.

Outlook: More rain is expected in the near term, and the drainage upgrades will take years, so flooding in these areas is likely to repeat before the fixes arrive.