TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) urged lawmakers on Friday to approve flood-control funding after heavy rain from Typhoon Mekkhala put pressure on the city’s drainage systems.
Speaking after inspecting the Rende detention basin and water levels at Sanye Creek, Huang said the situation was worrying as water near the embankment had risen close to a critical level. He added that although Typhoon Mekkhala did not make landfall in Taiwan, its outer circulation brought more than 250 millimeters of rain to Tainan in six hours.
Huang said the city had used all available flood-control measures. He said the Rende detention basin helped lower flood risks, but stronger defenses were still needed as extreme weather becomes more common.
The city’s water resources bureau said Sanye Creek has been one of Tainan’s main flood-control areas since 2010. It said work on the main creek was completed in late 2022, reducing flood-prone areas by about 383 hectares and protecting more than 65,000 people, UDN reported.
The bureau said the Rende detention basin has two sections with a combined storage capacity of 525,300 tonnes of water. It said the basin can reduce peak floodwater entering Sanye Creek and nearby drainage channels.
Huang said Sanye Creek is designed to handle less severe flooding than some major urban areas. He urged the Legislature to approve funding for central government flood-control projects so local governments can improve flood defenses.
