Only 40% of dams in Japan can mitigate flood risks: survey

Only 40 percent of dams in Japan can pre-emptively release their reservoirs' water prior to heavy rains to mitigate flood risks, a Kyodo News survey showed Monday.The lack of the "pre-release" function has forced some dam operators to enact emergency discharge only after water levels approached their limit in recent typhoons and other rain disasters. Some people died due to swollen rivers caused by such a release in the 2018 torrential rain in western Japan.The government has been calling for dam operators to prepare the function for strategic release and actively manage water levels. But i…READ FULL ARTICLE