A dispute has broken out in Tainan's Rende district after three days of flooding, with residents blaming clogged drains and the city hitting back with cleaning records — bad news for flood victims either way, since the real problem looks bigger than blocked ditches.

• Rende flooded for three days after Tainan got its heaviest rain since Typhoon Morakot, driven by a low-pressure band.
• A resident on Zhongzheng Road said drains had not been cleaned in 40 years, sparking public anger.
• The city's environmental bureau released photos and work logs showing crews cleaned that stretch in March and July this year, and on 83 separate days over the past six years.
• Neighbors said one home's entryway extends over the side drain, so no manhole cover could be installed there and that spot could not be cleaned.
• Officials say the rainfall simply exceeded the area's flood-control design, with the Sanye Creek staying high and water draining slowly; portable pumps were brought in.

Outlook: Central and city authorities are drawing up new flood-control plans for extreme weather, and residents are being told to prepare as Typhoon Sadel approaches despite its track shifting north.