Three people have been detained as prosecutors investigate suspected illegal waste dumping linked to a Tainan explosion that injured 15 people.

Southern Taiwan entered a fifth day of recurring heavy rain Monday, with coastal flooding in Kaohsiung, reduced transport services and continued landslide warnings.

Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung will suspend work and classes on Monday, Aug. 24, as heavy rain continues across southern Taiwan.

Starlux Airlines (星宇航空) announced on Aug. 21 that it will expand operations to southern Taiwan by launching direct flights from Kaohsiung to Kobe and Okinawa, Japan.

Construction of Gangshan’s planned second National Freeway 1 interchange could begin in September, with the NT$4.38 billion project intended to relieve traffic serving northern Kaohsiung’s industrial areas.

Investigators traced metal waste involved in explosions that injured 15 people in Tainan to a Kaohsiung-registered company whose owner is reportedly wanted in a separate fraud case.

Kaohsiung’s semiconductor transition is real, but so are questions over the former refinery site’s cleanup, future water supply and the electricity needed to power the city’s new industries.

Fourteen people were injured after a pre-dawn fire and explosions at an Anan District lot where officials found hazardous industrial waste. The cause and responsibility remain under investigation.

A large fire and repeated explosions drew an overnight emergency response in Tainan’s Annan District. Initial reports conflicted over whether nine people were injured or no casualties had been confirmed.

Kaohsiung’s Asia New Bay Area is attracting banks and family-office services, but it is too soon to conclude that the financial push has already transformed the local property market.