A large underground storage facility to prevent flooding around Tokyo's JR Shibuya Station has been completed, and is set to become operational after Aug. 31.
The new facility can hold about 4,000 tons of rainwater, or the equivalent of 13 25-meter swimming pools. Opened to the public on Wednesday, it is located about 25 meters below the east exit of the station in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, and measures about 45 meters long and 22 meters wide.
Rainwater will be taken in when heavy rain of 50 to 75 millimeters per hour falls. Flood damage will be reduced by later discharging the water into the sewers.
The area around Shibuya Station has been flooded in the past due to the conical shape of the land. Tokyu Corp., East Japan Railway Co., and Tokyo Metro Co. have been building the underground facility since 2011, as part of efforts to redevelop the area around the station.
The Tokyo metropolitan government will take over management of the facility.
The construction of underground storage facilities is increasing, mainly in urban areas, due to the frequent occurrence of localized torrential rain in recent years. According to the Association for Rainwater Storage and Infiltration Technology, about 60,000 such facilities had been built as of fiscal 2019.
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