About 14 storeys beneath bustling Tokyo, or 42m underground, lies a cavern of tunnels and vaults that temporarily stores swelling rainwater to prevent flooding above ground.
Climate change has, however, drastically increased the risks of inundation, given higher odds of stronger typhoons and prolonged bouts of heavy rainfall.
Plans are under way to further grow the city's operational reservoir capacity to 3.6 million cubic metres from the current 2.64 million cubic metres - by the end of this decade, with the construction of more underground facilities, officials from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) told The Straits Times on Friday.
On top of that, another 1.5 million cubic metres of reservoir storage is expected to be under construction in 2030, with Tokyo aiming for a total planned capacity of 5.1 million cubic metres, which is enough for 2,040 Olympic-size pools.
ST understands that this number will be reviewed again in fiscal 2023, which begins on Saturday.
This is part of a 6.6 trillion yen (S$66 billion) plan to strengthen the capital's resilience against flooding, alongside plans to raise coastal sea walls and river embankments.
While Tokyo started out building conventional in-ground reservoirs, land scarcity and sky-high land prices in the capital drove urban planners to dig deep.
The current system of 28 so-called "regulating reservoirs", with a capacity enough for 1,056 Olympic-size pools, comprises 16 inground reservoirs, nine underground vaults, and three underground tunnels.
But Tokyo's urban planners are increasingly concerned that this existing network is not robust enough to cope with extreme weather events.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 01, 2023 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 01, 2023 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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