The Linluo Drainage Canal in Wandan, Pingtung, has been breached by floodwaters once again — bad news for nearby villagers, as the same stretch of embankment has now given way four times in five years.

• The site of this latest breach was the gap that was patched up temporarily with bulk bags two months ago; the water was simply too powerful and broke straight through.
• The county government has brought in concrete blocks to reinforce the site and will put the repair work out to tender on September 1, but villagers say patching the hole is not enough.
• The downstream flood wall is already seeping, leaking water and cracking, and residents worry it will collapse again in the next heavy rain.
• The old embankment relied on sheer weight to hold back the water and contains no steel reinforcement; it was designed to a 25-year standard, whereas today's torrential rains routinely exceed the 100-year standard.
• Legislator Su Ching-chuan criticised it as "an embankment without steel reinforcement," while the Water Resources Department said this reflected design practice of an earlier era rather than cut corners.

Next steps: the Water Resources Department will seek funding from the central government to rebuild the entire downstream embankment, with steel reinforcement to be used in both new construction and reinforcement work.