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After record rain, typhoon threatens new challenge to Asian Games / Photo: Mohd Rasfan - AFP
After record rain, typhoon threatens new challenge to Asian Games
First there was a record deluge, then a shortage of beds and now Asian Games organisers in Japan are "praying" that a typhoon does not play havoc with a cruise ship housing thousands of athletes.
More than 17,000 athletes and officials are descending on the port city of Nagoya and the prefecture of Aichi for the continent's sporting showpiece.
To save money there is no traditional athletes' village, competitors instead staying in temporary huts, hotels and the cruise ship Costa Serena.
Last week record rainfall drenched Nagoya and forced participants briefly to evacuate the shipping container-style lodgings.
Several teams have complained about the quality of the huts, including the beds being too short, and others have said there are not enough rooms for everyone at the Games.
On Thursday, two days ahead of the opening ceremony, weather forecasters predicted that a typhoon could hit Japan's main island -- where Nagoya is situated -- on Sunday or Monday.
That would have repercussions for the estimated 4,000 Games participants housed on the cruise ship floating in Nagoya's port.
"All we can do is to pray that the worst-case scenario will not happen," The Asahi Shimbun quoted an unnamed sports federation official as saying.
The newspaper noted that the course of the storm Dujuan "remains uncertain", but said one of the more severe consequences would see the ship evacuated from the port area and relocated.
AFP has contacted local organisers for comment.
September and October is typhoon season in Japan.
Thursday was dry and sunny in Nagoya but wet weather in previous days meant the women's cricket match between China and Bangladesh was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
About 104mm (four inches) of rain fell in an hour in Nagoya on Tuesday last week, prompting municipal officials to issue an evacuation order for parts of the city.
Rainwater seeped into several competition venues.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather events in Japan and elsewhere.
R.Accetta--INP
