Days of torrential rain have caused disaster across southern Taiwan. President Lai Ching-te visited Kaohsiung to survey the damage and defended the progress of flood control work in central and southern Taiwan — bad news for residents of the affected areas, but it may bring more central government funding for flood control.

• A low-pressure system combined with southwesterly winds brought days of torrential rain and flooding to Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Tainan and Chiayi.
• Northern Kaohsiung recorded more than 500 millimetres of rain in 24 hours, worse than Typhoon Morakot and far exceeding flood protection standards.
• Lai Ching-te said flood control work in the greater Taipei area began early and has already received hundreds of billions of NT dollars, while central and southern Taiwan started later and still needs reinforcement, and should not be blamed every time flooding occurs.
• Kaohsiung has already submitted new projects such as the Tuku detention pond and pumping stations to the central government, and Lai Ching-te asked the Water Resources Agency on the spot to approve them as soon as possible.

Outlook: The central government may speed up the disbursement of funding for flood control works in Kaohsiung, but in the short term further flooding in the south remains hard to avoid.