Asian Games athletes forced to evacuate amid record rainfall in Japan

Rainwater leaked into competition venues a day before some preopening ceremony competitions beginning on Thursday.

Hundreds of Asian Games athletes in Japan were briefly evacuated from their accommodation as record rainfall lashed host city Nagoya, officials have said.

About 104mm (4 inches) of rain fell in an hour in Nagoya on Tuesday, prompting municipal officials to issue an evacuation order for parts of the city.

Competition is set to begin on Thursday, with rainwater leaking into some competition venues and more wet weather forecast for the coming days.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather events in Japan and elsewhere.

This year’s Asian Games has no dedicated athletes’ village, with organisers instead relying on a cruise ship, temporary wooden containers and hotels.

An official with Nagoya Port Authority said “hundreds” of athletes staying at the city’s Garden Pier area, where the wooden container huts are located, were told to move to safety.

The athletes returned after the evacuation order was lifted about two hours later. Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said the extensive flooding left the athletes unharmed.

“We are not worried about the conditions of the venues, and we believe there is no problem holding the Asian Games as planned,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Hirosawa said about 400 athletes and staff members staying in converted shipping containers — remodelled to serve as temporary housing units for the Asian Games — were briefly evacuated to higher ground during the heavy rain.

He said there were a number of leaking roofs but nothing more serious around the dozens of games venues.

A view of container-style wooden cabins built by the Sports Authority of India to help athletes acclimatise to their accommodation before the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, as seen in Bengaluru, India [File: Chiranjit Ojha/Reuters]

The Asian Games officially begin with an opening ceremony on September 19, but several events get under way earlier, with the basketball competition beginning on Thursday.

Rainwater was found in several competition venues, but Mayor Hirosawa said the facilities were not seriously affected and that events would go on as scheduled.

“There has been limited impact, like rainwater leaking from the roofs of some buildings, but the situation is not so serious that the opening on the 19th is in jeopardy for now,” he said.

“Given the current circumstances, I believe there will be no obstacles to holding the Asian Games.”

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected at the games – a bigger number than the Olympics.

Subway and bus services in Nagoya were temporarily halted on Tuesday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest flood warning for a major river in the area.

Local media reports said about 3,500 people took shelter at emergency evacuation centres.