Nagoya: Hundreds of athletes and staff preparing for the Asian Games in Japan were temporarily evacuated from their accommodation after record rainfall battered host city Nagoya, causing flooding and leaks at several competition venues.
Nagoya recorded around 104.5mm of rain in just one hour on Tuesday, the highest one-hour rainfall ever observed in the city, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for parts of the area.
Around 400 athletes and staff members staying in converted container-style accommodation at the Garden Pier area were told to move to higher ground as the heavy rain intensified.
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The athletes were able to return to their accommodation after the evacuation order was lifted around two hours later. No athletes were reported injured.
Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said the flooding had not caused serious damage to the Asian Games infrastructure and insisted preparations remained on track.
“We are not worried about the conditions of the venues, and we believe there is no problem holding the Asian Games as planned,” Hirosawa told reporters on Wednesday.
Officials reported leaking roofs and rainwater entering some of the dozens of competition venues, although no major structural damage was found. More wet weather is forecast over the coming days.
This year’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will operate without a traditional central athletes’ village. Organisers are instead housing competitors across hotels, a cruise ship and temporary container-style accommodation.
An official from the Nagoya Port Authority said “hundreds” of athletes staying at Garden Pier, where the temporary housing units are located, had been instructed to evacuate during the storm.
The torrential rain also disrupted parts of Nagoya’s transport network, temporarily affecting subway and bus services, while authorities issued severe flood warnings for the region.
The 2026 Asian Games officially open on September 19 and run until October 4, although some competitions begin before the opening ceremony, including basketball on Thursday. More than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions are expected to compete.
Despite the disruption, city officials said there was currently no indication that the severe weather would affect the staging of the Games.
