A company that has been building a number of skyscrapers around Tokyo's Shibuya Station over the past several years has completed a huge underground facility, tasked with safeguarding the major transit hub against flooding in times of torrential rain.
The water storage facility, built by Tokyu Corp. during a 10-year project, can hold some 4,000 tons of rainwater, or enough to fill nine 25-meter swimming pools, according to the major railway and real estate business group.
The facility, located about 25 meters beneath the station's East Exit plaza, is usually empty. But when a downpour hits the area, it is designed to collect rainwater through storm drains. Once the weather gets better, the water will be discharged into the city's sewers via pumps.