JAPAN/USA: A massive underground surge tank, nicknamed "The Underground Temple", protects the Japanese capital from the yearly onslaughts of typhoons and storms, many similar in force to Hurricane Sandy
Record ID:
466751
JAPAN/USA: A massive underground surge tank, nicknamed "The Underground Temple", protects the Japanese capital from the yearly onslaughts of typhoons and storms, many similar in force to Hurricane Sandy
- Title: JAPAN/USA: A massive underground surge tank, nicknamed "The Underground Temple", protects the Japanese capital from the yearly onslaughts of typhoons and storms, many similar in force to Hurricane Sandy
- Date: 1st November 2012
- Summary: KASUKABE, SAITAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 1, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF TOKYO METROPOLITAN FLOODWAY PUMP STATION SIGN FOR TOKYO METROPOLITAN FLOODWAY PUMP STATION MACHINERY AT PUMP STATION CHIEF OF PUMP STATION, KOMIYAMA TAKASHI, EXPLAINING ROUTE OF FLOODWAY LOOKING AT MAP TAKASHI GESTURING AT MAP OF TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA MORE OF TAKASHI TALKING TAKASHI USING HAND TO DEMONSTRATE FLOODWATER FLOWING TOWARDS TOKYO TAKASHI WALKING TO ENTRANCE OF PUMP STATION TAKASHI OPENING DOOR VARIOUS OF TAKASHI WALKING THROUGH UNDERGROUND SURGE TANK, NICKNAMED "THE UNDERGROUND TEMPLE" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CHIEF OF TOKYO METROPOLITAN FLOODWAY PUMP STATION, KOMIYAMA TAKASHI, SAYING: "The floodway is directly protecting people from floods, the results are there. The damage is down by about two thirds, in terms of both the number of homes that get flooded and the areas that are impacted." VARIOUS OF SURGE TANK (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CHIEF OF TOKYO METROPOLITAN FLOODWAY PUMP STATION, KOMIYAMA TAKASHI, SAYING: "The best idea for town planning is of course to make sure your river routes are in the right place and on the right ground. But for areas that haven't been able to do that, well, new underground floodways would work well to stop flooding. But in the case of New York, all the space underground has been used up for development, and I think it would probably be difficult to put in floodways." CHANNEL LEADING INTO SURGE TANK FROM WATER TOWER VARIOUS OF TAKASHI WALKING DOWN STAIRWAY IN WATER TOWER WATER AT BOTTOM OF TOWER
- Embargoed: 16th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa, Japan
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disasters,Environment,Technology
- Reuters ID: LVA6XHXFSGLC6CGJOXJEXHSVZ34R
- Story Text: In the low-lying suburbs of Tokyo, an "Underground Temple" protects the capital from flooding.
Japan's land ministry says it is the world's current largest solution to flooding.
Here is a pump station for the Tokyo Metropolitan Floodway, the end point of a 6 kilometre (3.7 mile) long network of tunnels -- capable of channeling away storm waters at the rate of five Olympic size swimming pools every minute.
The aim is to prevent scenes like those in New York this week, when Hurricane Sandy caused widespread flooding across parts of the city.
"The floodway is directly protecting people from floods, the results are there. The damage is down by about two thirds, in terms of both the number of homes that get flooded and the areas that are impacted," pump station chief Takashi Komiyama said, referring to a study of several towns in Tokyo's low-lying northern suburbs before and after the system was completed in 2006.
The jewel of the system is a cavernous surge tank -- known as the "Underground Temple" -- measuring 177 metres (580 feet) long, 78 metres (256 feet) wide and 18 metres (59 feet) high.
As smaller rivers rise during typhoons, the water is diverted into the tank through 6.3 kilometres (3.9 miles) of tunnels at a maximum rate of 200 cubic metres (260 cubic yards) every second.
From there, the water is slowly pumped into the Edo River, a waterway large enough to handle the extra volume.
With a price tag of about 230 billion yen (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) the system wasn't cheap, but Koriyama says the United States should keep it in mind -- if there's space.
"The best idea for town planning is of course to make sure your river routes are in the right place and on the right ground. But for areas that haven't been able to do that, well, new underground floodways would work well to stop flooding. But in the case of New York, all the space underground has been used up for development, and I think it would probably be difficult to put in floodways," he said.
Every year Tokyo is swept by typhoons and storms, many similar in force to Hurricane Sandy.
In 1991 a typhoon swamped nearly 10,000 hectares (24710 acres) of land and flooded more than 30,000 homes in the low-lying areas around Tokyo's northern fringes, Land Ministry figures showed. Construction of the floodway began two years later and was fully completed by 2006. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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