Firstly, years of excessive slopeland clearance and encroachment on riverbeds for building land have increased peak river flows while reducing rivers 'flow capacity, and the engineering solution of building ever higher embankments proved on this occasion to be spectacularly ineffective.
長期來山坡地濫墾、與水爭地，造成河川行水區萎縮，再試圖以加高堤防等工程手段對付洪水，在此役中大敗而證實不可行。在諸多人謀不臧因素中，「貨櫃殺人」更是可恨。