Tokyo still shows little sign of the rainy-season start. For the Kanto-Koshin region the average onset is June 8; last year it was June 6. What about this year?
Still, the rains will come, and in recent years guerrilla downpours — intense rain in a short time — have more often flooded roads even off low ground. So the Palaceside Building held a flood-prevention drill on the 26th, as it does each year just before the rainy season.
About 60 people took part in earnest: Mainichi Building Co. staff, Aing and Maisakae who handle security, Globeship for facilities, and Seibi for cleaning.
Making their debut this time were flood boards at the first-basement east "service yard
." Near the elevator hall an automatic door leads outside to a trash area, also used for freight. A ramp from ground level lets trucks down, so if the street floods, water could flow in.
Boards about 40 centimeters high go at this doorway =top photo= and at an elevator just outside near the trash area =photo right=. A board hung on a nearby wall is taken down =photos below left= and arms press rubber packing left and right =photos below right. Light enough for one person and simple to set — an excellent device.
The biggest job among the other drills is sealing the two building entrances that lead to the second-basement subway Takebashi Station gates with tide doors. At the main entrance up the escalator to B1, two iron tide doors (20 centimeters thick, ceiling-high) were pulled out from behind the kiosk by rope and braced
=photo left. Closed, they look like this =photos right and below — truly an iron wall.
The entrance to the west elevator hall is closed with an iron door and braced from behind the same way.
They also walked the Palaceside Building perimeter, checking flood-risk spots — door gaps, broken brick edging — and confirming where sandbags must go to keep water out.
Aiming for a safe, secure building, the Palaceside Building will keep running regular drills of many kinds so it is ready when the moment comes.