The rainy season is starting to feel like itself. Palaceside Building holds a flood-prevention drill every year before the rains begin. This year it was at the end of May. About 40 people took part in earnest: staff of Mainichi Building Co. and personnel from Aing (security), Globeship (facilities) and Seibi (cleaning).
The drill was on a Sunday, when the building is closed. In the morning we practiced sealing the two building entrances that lead to the Takebashi Station ticket gates on the second basement with flood doors. At the entrance connected to the west elevator hall we (photo below) ① removed floor blocks per the manual, ②–③ closed the steel doors and ④ tightened the screws so they would hold against water pressure.
Then at the main entrance by the escalators beside the kiosk in front of the gates, we pulled out the two ceiling-high flood doors (about 20 centimeters thick) stored behind the kiosk and fitted the braces (photo above).
We also practiced setting flood boards at the top of the parking-garage ramp.
In the afternoon, in the car-wash space of the basement garage, we actually soaked water-swelling sandbags (light, so easy to carry to the site) and absorbent mats (photo at right) and practiced using the swollen ones as
sandbags.
We also walked the building perimeter and checked flood-risk spots — door gaps, breaks in the surrounding brick — confirming where sandbags would have to be stacked to keep water out.
We were reminded how important regular drills are, so we can move quickly when it counts.