Asian Games athletes and venues unharmed by floods

Athletes who had arrived early for the Asian Games were unharmed by extensive flooding that hit the central Japanese city of Nagoya, Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said yesterday.

“We are not worried about the conditions of the venues and we believe there is no problem holding the Asian Games as planned,” Hirosawa said.

The Asian Games, an event with more athletes than the Summer Olympics, open on Saturday next week in Nagoya and surrounding areas and run through Oct. 4.

A car drives along a flooded road following heavy rain, with a banner for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in the background, in Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday.

Photo: AP

More than 11,000 athletes are signed up from 45 countries and regions in Asia. By comparison, about 10,700 athletes participated in the Summer Olympics in 2024 in Paris.

The previous edition of the Asian Games was held three years ago in Hangzhou, China.

Hirosawa said about 400 athletes and staff who are staying in converted shipping containers — remodeled to serve as temporary housing units for the Asian Games — were briefly evacuated to higher ground during the heavy rain.

He said there were a number of leaking roofs, but nothing more serious around the dozens of Games venues.

Record rain fell in parts of the city on Tuesday, flooding dozens of roads and homes, and stranding pedestrians and vehicles. City bus and subway operations were temporarily suspended, the mayor said.

Reports said about 3,500 people took shelter at emergency evacuation centers.