Taiwan's president visited flooded streets near Kun Shan University of Technology in Tainan and backed a city plan to cut future flooding — good news for local residents, though flood defenses clearly still fall short.

• Heavy rain again swamped roads around the campus, and the city wants to build box culverts plus an underground storage pond on school land to feed a pump station.
• The central government promised full budget support, with a warning to spend it where it actually counts.
• Officials say flood works have already paid off: the same kind of rainfall that once put over 50,000 hectares under water this time flooded only a few hundred.
• Tainan was told to dredge drains and rivers before each typhoon season, with penalties if the work is not done.
• The president pushed back at critics, asking people to hold off on complaints not grounded in the facts.

Outlook: Design work on the pond and drainage upgrades moves ahead, but the area stays exposed until the construction is finished.