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At least four people have died after record-breaking heavy rain triggered severe flooding in eastern Japan, authorities said on Friday.
More than 360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, inundating roads and railway lines and disrupting transport. One person remains missing.
The torrential downpour left around 7,000 passengers stranded overnight at Narita International Airport, while thousands more were affected by suspended train services and flooded roads. Flights at Narita were operating normally, although delays were reported.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest-level heavy rain warning for parts of Chiba for the first time. More than 80 homes were flooded, while hundreds of thousands of residents were advised to evacuate.
Power outages affected tens of thousands of households, and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force was deployed to assist with rescue and relief operations. Authorities warned that the risk of flooding remained high even as the rain eased on Friday.
More than 80 homes were flooded in the prefecture and nearly 230,000 residents across the prefecture were advised to take shelter, Chiba officials said.
The torrential rain and flooding also knocked out power to about 23,000 homes Friday morning, down from 68,000 earlier, according to the TEPCO Power Grid.
Record-breaking rainfall of 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches) fell in just one hour in Chiba City and 9.7 centimeters (3.8 inches) fell in one hour in Sakura, which was also a record. JMA forecast official Takuya Hosomi told a televised emergency news conference that unprecedented levels of rainfall were recorded.
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