Japan categorises underpass flood risks to prevent accidents

Tokyo (ANTARA) - Japan’s Ministry of Transport released a new policy on Tuesday that categorises underpasses into four levels based on flood risk to prevent accidents following several deaths caused by heavy rain.

Local road authorities will categorise each underpass based on various factors, such as topographical conditions and flood history. Level 1 indicates the highest risk locations.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has also established mitigation measures for each risk level.

For underpasses with the highest risk, the government will install gates that can close road access automatically or remotely when flooding is detected.

Red warning lights will also be installed in every underpass, regardless of the assigned risk level.

The Ministry will provide subsidies to local governments and other road authorities to implement these measures.

The policy was issued after several people died when vehicles became trapped in underpasses submerged by heavy rain in Chiba Prefecture in August, as well as a fatal accident in an underpass in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in September.

Japan has approximately 3,840 underpasses, about 3,700 of which are managed by local governments.

The new policy also calls for the implementation of several preventive measures, including vehicle access restrictions and the maintenance of drainage systems.

“We will notify all road authorities across the country and immediately implement effective measures,” said Transport Minister Tatsunori Ibayashi during a press conference.

He stated that the government will provide full support for budget submissions based on the progress of project implementation.