Susceptible to flooding, Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, 70 percent of which is below sea level at high tide, will start posting rainfall forecasts on its website from Thursday in a pilot program aimed at improving its flood control as much of the nation grapples with a spate of torrential downpours.
Edogawa is apparently the first municipality in the Kanto region to provide estimates of rainfall, said Naomasa Tachihara, section chief of the ward's civil engineering division.
"Much of the land in the ward is below sea level, so when it rains a lot, the water tends to rise and cover some roads. Residents are very concerned about downpours," he said. Also, some 20 percent of the ward is water: The Edogawa and Arakawa rivers run through it to empty into Tokyo Bay, according to Tachihara.
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