we could be jumping to conclusions. Lahore is a city of 10 million. It could be that most of the city now does have proper drainage 6 years on, and this new pic could just be a single highlighted incident.
Pakistan
Half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August, averaging about 255 millimeters (8.8 inch) in each of those two months. The remainder of the year has significantly less rain, amounting to approximately fifty millimeters (1.1 inch) per month.
Weather and Climate: Pakistan, average monthly Rainfall, Sunshine, Temperature, Humidity, Wind Speed
Let us take
Lahore for example:
6.5 million (2013)
Japan
There are earthquakes happening almost every week if not everyday + typhoons and tropical rains hitting Japan
Average rainfall from 1990 to 2009.
June 203.8 mm
July 228.2 mm
August 189.4 mm
September 206.5 mm
Tokyo population
13.35 million (May 1, 2014)
Climate Change Knowledge Portal 2.0
What did Japanese do in Tokyo?
The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, is an underground water infrastructure project in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan.
It is the world's largest underground flood water diversion facility, built for preventing overflow of the city's major waterways and rivers during rain and typhoon seasons.
Work on the project started in 1992 and was completed by early 2009; it consists of five concrete containment silos with heights of 65 m and diameters of 32 m, connected by 6.4 km of tunnels, 50 m beneath the surface, as well as a large water tank with a height of 25.4 m, with a length of 177 m, with a width of 78 m, and with 59 massive pillars connected to a number of 10 MW pumps that can pump up to 200 tons of water (the approximate equivalent of a standard 25 meter pool) into the Edo River per second.
"Ryukyukan" for Underground Exploration Museum of The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel is also a tourist attraction and can be visited for free; however, as the tours are conducted in Japanese, a Japanese speaker must be present in the group to act as a translator for non-Japanese speakers.
Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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November 1, 2012
How giant tunnels protect Tokyo from flood threat
On the outskirts of Tokyo, behind a small government building, underneath a soccer field and skateboard park, sits a remarkable feat of engineering.
It's an example of how Japan's capital, which lies in a region at high risk from flooding and tropical cyclones, is trying to figure out how to contain the elements to protect its 13 million inhabitants.
The entrance, which is locked at all times, is so nondescript a visitor may walk past dozens of times without ever noticing it.
But today, we are given a tour down below of the so-called "Water Discharge Tunnel."
Built between 1993 and 2006 at a cost of nearly $3 billion, the stunning complex is far more impressive than its name suggests.
Winding down a series of stairs, you soon come upon a massive hall, resembling an underground Parthenon, or a scene out of a science fiction film.
The initial water tank stretches more than 320 feet in length and towers higher than a five-story building.
When you add it all up,
the complex features five massive shafts, or tanks, that are able to move water along a tunnel that stretches nearly four miles.
In this area of Saitama prefecture,
heavy rains would often flood the Naka River Basin. But now, that valuable farmland has an incredible drain system sitting below.
When the tanks and tunnel fill, engineers are able to turn on the heart of the system, which is a series of four turbines powered by jet engines similar to those used in a Boeing 737 airplane. The turbines are then able to rapidly funnel floodwaters to the nearby Edo River.
It's worth noting that this part of suburban Tokyo can hardly be compared to the dense underground of New York City, which is a maze of subway tunnels, sewage systems and power lines.
The engineers here are the first to point out that their system, while remarkable, is meant to deal with heavy rains -- and that it would struggle to cope with a Sandy-type storm surge coming from the Atlantic Ocean into New York's Upper Bay.
Still, the underground marvel could inspire engineers to look for new ways to try to contain Mother Nature in the future.
How giant tunnels protect Tokyo from flood threat - CNN.com
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