WNET PERIL AND PROMISE REPORTING

INITIATIVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAS

A NEW SERIES.

SINKING CITIES, A FOUR-NIGHT

TELEVISION EVENT EXPLORING THE

IMPACT OF RISING SEA LEVELS AND

INTENSIFYING WEATHER.

NEW YORK, TOKYO, LONDON AND

MIAMI ARE COPING WITH THE

REALTIME EFFECTS OF RISING SEAS

AND WORKING ON SOLUTIONS TO

LITERALLY STEM THE TIDE.

TONIGHT THE TARGET IS TOKYO, A

CITY PLAGUED BY TYPHOONS,

TSUNAMIS, EARTHQUAKES AND

SINKING NEIGHBORHOODS.

AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST

POPULAR CITIES WHAT SOLUTIONS

HAVE SIGNIST ITS, PLANNERS FOUND

TO HELP MITIGATE CLIMATE

DISASTER.

HERE IS A PREVIEW.

>> TYPHOONS, TSUNAMIS,

EARTHQUAKES, RISING SEAS,

LIQUEFACTION, SINKING

NEIGHBORHOODS.

TOKYO, THE WORLD'S MOST POPULARE

CITY HAS THE WORLD'S LARGEST SET

OF PROBLEMS.
>> SO WHEN YOU HAVE ALL THOSE

LEVELS TOGETHER THE SEA LEVEL

RISES ONE METER PLUS THE QUAKE,

THAT'S TWO METERS.

PLUS EVENTUALLY A TYPHOON THAT

CAN BRING THE WATER LEVEL A

METER HIGHER.

THAT'S THREE METERS.

IF YOU'RE UNLUCKY AT THAT TIME

YOU HAVE FLOOD FROM THE RIVERS,

CREDITED TO BE BETWEEN 1 AND 1.5

MEMBERS.

ALL THOSE TOGETHER, YOU'RE IN

TROUBLE.

IT'S NOT THE QUESTION OF IF IT'S

GOING TO HAPPEN, IT'S A QUESTION

OF WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

>> NONETHELESS, TOKYO MAY BE ONE

OF THE VERY FEW CITIES IN THE

WORLD SERIOUSLY GRAPPLING WITH

THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

IT'S FIGURED OUT ENGINEERING

SOLUTIONS BEFORE AND WITH SEA

LEVELS RISING JAPAN NOW NEEDS TO

DO IT AGAIN.

IN 1993 BEFORE CLIMATE CHANGE

WAS MUCH DISCUSSED, TOKYO

DECIDED TO TACKLE ITS EXISTING

FLOOD PROBLEM WITH A MEGA

PROJECT THAT MANY BELIEVED WAS

DECADES AHEAD OF ITS TIME.

JAPAN BUILT A FUTURISTIC CAVERN

TO PROTECT ITSELF AGAINST WATER

FROM ABOVE, BELOW, OR THE

SURROUNDING SEA.

>> WE ARE IN THE SURGE TANK.

WE HAVE COME DOWN TO 65 FEET

BELOW THE GROUND.

ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE IS SHAFT

NUMBER ONE.

FURTHER DOWN THE TUNNEL, WE ALSO

HAVE SHAFT NUMBER TWO, THREE,

FOUR, AND FIVE.

THE OVERFLOW FROM FLOODING IS

COLLECTED THROUGH THESE SHAFTS

AND GOES THROUGH THE TUNNEL TO

COME UP THROUGH SHAFT NUMBER ONE

GRADUALLY.

THE WATER THEN FLOWS INTO THE

DRAINAGE PUMP STATION THROUGH

THIS SURGE TANK.

>> WHEN WATER FLOODS TOKYO, THIS

IS WHERE IT ALL GOES.

>> THE ACCUMULATED WATER WILL

RISE AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL

REACH A CERTAIN LEVEL.

THEN IT GETS THROUGH THE PUMPS

OF THE DRAINAGE PUMP SYSTEM TO

BE DRAINED OUT TO THE ADO RIVER.

WE HAVE THE WATER FLOWING INTO

OUR FACILITY ABOUT SEVEN TIMES A

YEAR ON AVERAGE.

OUT OF THOSE SEVEN TIMES, OR

ABOUT 60% OF THE TIME, THE WATER

FLOWS INTO HERE AND IS FORCED

OUT TO THE RIVER.

FOR THE REMAINING 40% OF THE

TIME, WE STORE THE WATER HERE AS

IT CAN HOLD UP TO 670,000 TONS.

THEN THE WATER GETS RETURNED TO

THE RIVER IT CAME FROM.

>> THE SYSTEM CAN HOLD UP TO 65

MILLION GALLONS OF WATER AND CAN

PUMP IT OUT AS QUICKLY AS IT

COMES IN.

LEWIS McKENNA IS A UK-BASED

ENGINEER FOCUSED ON THE PROBLEM

OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.

>> FOR THE MIND'S EYE TO CAPTURE

THE SCALE OF THESE SILOS, YOU

CAN TAKE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

AND PLACE IT INSIDE ONE OF THOSE

SILOS.

THAT'S HOW BIG IT IS.

IT IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE.

FLOODING IN TOKYO IS A BIG

CHALLENGE.
IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF

PROTECTION, THEY WOULD BE GONE.

>> IT TOOK 13 YEARS TO CONSTRUCT

THIS FACILITY FROM 1993 TO 2006.

IN ACTUAL FIGURES IT COSTS $232

BILLION YEN.

>> THAT'S MORE THAN $2 BILLION.

>> SOME DOMESTIC AND

INTERNATIONAL EVALUATIONS

CONSIDER THIS TO BE EXPENSIVE.

HOWEVER, THE FLOOD DAMAGES IN

THIS BEEN REDUCED TO

APPROXIMATELY 1/10.

THEREFORE, I THINK IT IS NOT

THAT EXPENSIVE WHEN YOU TAKE THE

FLOOD DAMAGES INTO

CONSIDERATION.

>> IN 2015, AFTER A RECORD

RAINFALL, THIS TEMPLE TO

ENGINEERING WAS FILLED TO THE

BRIM.

BUT THE HEAVIEST OF THOSE RAINS

MISSED TOKYO WITH THE GREATER

IMPACT OUTSIDE THE CITY TO THE

NORTHEAST.

THE GIANT DRAINAGE SYSTEM COULD

NOT HAVE COPED IF THAT HAD

DIRECTLY HIT TOKYO.

>> Translator: I HEARD IT WAS

THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF INFLOW

AND DRAINAGE SINCE THE FACILITY

BEGAN ITS OPERATION.

OUR FACILITY HAS FOUR PUMPS AND

WE USUALLY USE ONE OR TWO AT A

TIME.

2015 WAS THE FIRST TIME ALL FOUR

PUMPS OPERATED AT FULL CAPACITY

SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR MORE THAN A

WEEK TO DRAIN THE WATER IN AN

EFFORT TO MITIGATE FLOODING IN

THE REGION.

>> ONCE THE TANK IS FULL, IT

DRAINS INTO THE ADO RIVER AT A

RATE OF 53,000 GALLONS, THE

CAPACITY OF AN OLYMPIC SIZED

SWIMMING POOL EVERY 12 SECONDS.

IT'S THE MOST ADVANCED FLOOD

MITIGATION SYSTEM ON THE PLANET.

RECENT RECORD RAINFALLS ARE TOO

MUCH FOR EVEN THE MASSIVE

RESERVOIRS TO HANDLE.

>> WE DO GET QUESTIONED ABOUT

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE HAD A

RAINFALL OF A SIMILAR SCALE.

WE MUST ADMIT WE ARE NOT FULLY

CERTAIN.

>> SINKING CITIES, TOKYO

PREMIERS TONIGHT AT 10:00 P.M.

ON PBS.

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VIEWING OPPORTUNITIES.

SO ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE

ENTIRE TEAM AT "METROFOCUS,"

HAVE A GOOD NIGHT AND WE'LL SEE 182 00:06:53,379 YOU TOMORROW.