Photo/Illutration Potable water is prepared for residents near the entrance of the high-rise apartment in Kawasaki on Oct. 15. (Kaname Ohira)

KAWASAKI--A 47-story apartment building here has remained without power since Typhoon No. 19 lashed the area, forcing residents to take to the stairs armed with flashlights.

Heavy rains brought by the typhoon that made landfall on Oct. 12 inundated the third basement floor that houses power supply equipment, causing the blackout.

Without power, elevator services were down and the water pump stopped working, cutting off supply to all 643 units of the 161-meter-tall building and rendering toilets unusable.

The company that manages the building near Musashi-Kosugi Station has been providing water and portable toilets since the outage.

On the morning of Oct. 15, companies related to the property tried to restore the power and other services.

However, a woman who lives on one of the upper floors said, “The management association explained that it will likely take a long time to restore the situation.”

Leaving the building with some luggage, she said, “I’ll have to stay somewhere else for the time being.”

The area around Musashi-Kosugi Station has become a popular place to live because of its convenience for transportation. Residents can use JR and Tokyu lines to get to Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yokohama and Narita Airport.

There are currently 11 high-rise apartment buildings near the station.

(This article was written by Takefumi Ishihara and Kaname Ohira.)