Premier Wu Den-yih pledged Friday to restart a subsidy program aimed at helping buildings in flood-prone areas set up protection barriers to reduce flood damage, in the wake of serious flooding caused by Typhoon Fanapi in southern Taiwan. Wu told reporters that the barrier system has proven very effective and that the government will overcome its financial difficulty in meeting the cost, such as by drawing on the government's reserve funds, to meet the needs of residents in those areas. According to Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah, a similar program in which the government subsidized up to 50 percent of the installation cost of the barriers was launched in 2009 using some of the funds earmarked for an economic stimulus package and reconstruction plans in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. The program can be restarted this year, just as soon as the financial problems are resolved, he said. 