Days of torrential rain have flooded farmland and fish ponds across many parts of Kaohsiung — bad news for local farmers and fish farmers, though calls to expand relief may bring some compensation.

• Flooding is severe in Yongan, Mituo, Tianliao and Tzukuan, with losses to crops and farmed fish emerging one after another.
• Ko Chih-en, the Kuomintang's candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to expand natural disaster relief and administer it on an "all-category" basis, so that category restrictions do not hold up applications.
• Beyond cash relief, she is also seeking low-interest loans to ease the cost of recovery for farmers and fishers.
• A single heavy downpour can wipe out a season's — or even a full year's — income for farmers and fishers.
• The damage is still spreading, and the priority is to speed up damage assessment and the disbursement of funds.

Outlook: Whether the central government approves all-category relief will be the key next step, with efforts to secure property-loss subsidies at the city government and city council levels proceeding in parallel.