Hundreds of athletes and staff were temporarily evacuated in Nagoya after record rainfall caused widespread flooding, disrupted public transport and led to water leaking into several Asian Games venues.
NAGOYA: Hundreds of Asian Games athletes in Japan were temporarily evacuated from their accommodation after record rainfall caused severe flooding in Nagoya, just days before the continental sporting event officially opens.
About 104 millimetres of rain fell in just one hour in Nagoya on Tuesday, prompting municipal authorities to issue an evacuation order for parts of the city. The intense rainfall flooded roads, disrupted public transport and forced athletes staying in temporary accommodation near Nagoya Port to move to safer ground.
Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said around 400 athletes and staff members staying in converted shipping containers at Garden Pier were evacuated during the heaviest rainfall. The athletes returned to their accommodation roughly two hours later after the evacuation order was lifted.
The temporary housing units, built from shipping containers and remodelled for the Games, are part of an unusual accommodation arrangement. Unlike the Olympics, the 2026 Asian Games does not have a dedicated athletes’ village, with organisers using hotels, a cruise ship and temporary container style accommodation.
Heavy rainfall also affected several competition venues, with water reportedly leaking through some roofs. However, organisers said there was no major structural damage and that competitions would proceed as planned.
“There has been limited impact, like rainwater leaking from the roofs of some buildings,” Hirosawa said, adding that the situation was not considered serious enough to threaten the opening of the Games.
The Asian Games opening ceremony is scheduled for September 19, although several sporting events are beginning earlier. The basketball competition is among the events scheduled to start on Thursday.
The extreme rainfall temporarily halted subway and bus services across parts of Nagoya. Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued its highest flood warning for a major river in the region as authorities responded to rapidly rising water levels.
Local reports said approximately 3,500 people sought shelter at emergency evacuation centres during the severe weather.
The flooding has raised concerns over the ability of the host city and Games infrastructure to cope with increasingly intense rainfall events. Scientists have warned that human driven climate change is contributing to more frequent and intense extreme weather events in Japan and other parts of the world.
More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected to attend the Asian Games, making the event larger in terms of participating athletes and officials than the Olympics.
Despite the disruption caused by Tuesday’s rainfall, city authorities maintained that preparations remained on track and that there was currently no obstacle to holding the Games as scheduled.
The incident nevertheless highlights the growing challenge of preparing major international sporting events for extreme weather, particularly as intense rainfall and flooding become an increasing risk for cities worldwide.