Deadly Typhoon Hagibis caused riverbanks to burst across Japan in October, and also led to sewer flooding around Sendai Station, known as the gateway to the Tohoku region, leaving roads and underground passages in the heart of the city underwater.
But for local business operators, the scene of flooded streets is nothing new, given that the flood-prone area west of the station becomes submerged whenever torrential rains hit the region.
In the current fiscal year, the Sendai Municipal Government has set about upgrading the zone's drainage system to raise rainwater pumping capacity.