By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said he didn’t have an exact number after being asked for a citywide pothole count while taking questions on Aug. 26, but Chen said municipal departments were hard at work repairing roads damaged by days of torrential rain.
A Yahoo Taiwan report said repairs to damaged pavement began on the night of Aug. 24. Chen instructed city agencies to make all major thoroughfares passable by Aug. 26.
Chen said recovery work included street cleaning and repairs to damaged roadbeds and landslide areas. Roads presenting safety concerns were to remain under traffic controls while inspections and repairs continued.
In Gushan District (鼓山區), geotechnical and civil engineers were assessing a collapsed roadbed at a site Chen described as being on a dip slope. Repairs would begin after the location was judged safe, he said.
The Kaohsiung City Government said the highest 24-hour rainfall total during the event reached 567 millimeters, exceeding the 559 millimeters recorded during Typhoon Gaemi.
In a separate city-government statement, officials said Kaohsiung’s 26 detention basins have a combined capacity of about 5 million metric tons of water. Repeated cycles of storage and pumping increased the total volume managed during the rain event to about 10 million metric tons, according to the city.
Officials said the system reduced pressure on drainage networks and lowered flooding risks in areas including Renwu District (仁武區), Gangshan District (岡山區) and Ziguan District (梓官區). Those assessments are city-government claims.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) visited drainage projects in Kaohsiung on Aug. 25, including sites in Gangshan and Yongan districts, according to the Presidential Office. Chen said he asked Lai and the Cabinet to accelerate disaster assistance and low-interest loans for affected residents, farmers and fishers.
The cited reports and government statements did not provide a timetable for completing repairs on all local roads.
