Record rainfall in Chiba triggers deadly floods, strands thousands
Record rainfall in Chiba prefecture caused deadly flooding, killing five and stranding thousands at stations and Narita airport.
Record-breaking rainfall that lashed cities east of Tokyo overnight has caused widespread flooding, leaving at least five people dead and one missing, authorities said Friday.
The downpour, described by forecasters as unprecedented, submerged roads, flooded dozens of homes, and triggered power outages that affected tens of thousands of households at its peak.
The Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its most severe heavy-rain warning for more than a dozen municipalities in Chiba prefecture as the rain subsided Friday morning, though more precipitation was expected later in the day.
Television footage and photographs showed extensive damage after daylight, with homes, vehicles, and sections of railway tracks swamped by muddy water.
The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched buses to pick up about 4,000 stranded people who had spent the night at Soga train station, a local route that also serves Tokyo Disney. The operation was completed later Friday, and the theme park reported no damage.
Thousands of people who were stuck overnight at Narita airport, which serves the Tokyo region, gradually left as train services partially resumed Friday morning with delays. Flights in and out of the airport were operating normally, with many travelers returning home at the end of Japan's Bon Buddhist holiday week.
Hundreds of people took shelter overnight at the Chiba prefectural government building.
The prefecture reported five deaths and one person missing. The victims included a man found floating on a flooded road in Ichikawa city and a woman who had been trapped in a flooded car in Sakura city. Two people were presumed dead after being pulled from flooded vehicles in Kashiwa city and in Chiba.
More than 170 homes were flooded in the prefecture, and over 300 people were taking shelter at public facilities as of Friday afternoon, according to Chiba officials.
The torrential rain knocked out power to about 18,000 homes Friday morning, down from 68,000 earlier, according to TEPCO Power Grid.
Record rainfall of 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches) fell in just one hour in Chiba City, while 9.7 centimeters (3.8 inches) fell in one hour in Sakura, also a record. JMA forecast official Takuya Hosomi told a televised emergency news conference that unprecedented levels of rainfall had been recorded.