Heavy Rain Floods Qingshui Elementary School Playground in Taichung

(Central News Agency reporter Zhao Liyan, Taichung, 10th) Continuous rain from last night to this morning in Taichung City caused flooding in multiple areas along the coastal region. The playground of Qingshui Elementary School was severely flooded, with a city councilor criticizing the drainage system for being problematic, describing the flooded area as being as wide as a pond. The school stated that it has urgently deployed 8 sets of pumps to respond.

Democratic Progressive Party Taichung City Councilor Yang Tien-chung issued a press release today, stating that he had received complaints from parents about the severe flooding on the Qingshui Elementary School playground. Councilor Yang inspected the site in the afternoon and said, "The flooded area on the playground is extensive. Three hours after the rain stopped, the water level has not noticeably receded. This indicates problems with the drainage systems of both Qingshui Elementary School and the surrounding stormwater sewers."

Councilor Yang pointed out that Qingshui Elementary School will hold its graduation ceremony tomorrow, and this important day that graduates have long awaited should not be affected by the flooding. He called on the city government to immediately coordinate with relevant units to carry out pumping and drainage operations to restore the normal campus environment. Regarding the unrelieved flooding on the playground, the city government should propose specific improvement plans.

Qingshui Elementary School told CNA reporters that the construction of a new school building has blocked the drainage path. While they usually have countermeasures in place, the continuous rain from last night to this morning, coupled with the sudden heavy downpour, overwhelmed the drainage capacity, causing water to back up and flood the playground. The contractor and the parent-teacher association have deployed pumps in response, with a total of 8 pumps distributed on both sides of the playground for drainage.

The school mentioned that to prevent nighttime rainfall from causing further flooding, the pumps will remain on standby at the edge of the playground for the time being. Tomorrow's graduation ceremony will be held as scheduled in the auditorium, and the planned segments of the ceremony and the campus tour do not include the playground venue. (Editor: Zhang Yajing) 1150610