Severe Flooding in Japan Leaves Four Dead, Thousands Stranded

Record-breaking rainfall in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, has killed at least four people and left thousands of travellers stranded during the busy Bon Buddhist holiday period.

Some parts of Chiba received more than 360mm of rain within 24 hours, causing severe flooding that submerged roads, railway lines, homes and vehicles and disrupted transport across the region.

Authorities said those who died included a man in his 60s or 70s who was found floating on a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman who was trapped inside her submerged vehicle. Two other people were also found dead. A fifth person was feared dead, while another remained missing.

More than 22,000 households were without electricity by Friday morning, according to Tokyo Electric Power. Around 80 homes were flooded, while authorities advised more than 230,000 residents to seek shelter.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force evacuated about 4,000 people from Soga railway station after they became stranded by floodwaters. Thousands of additional travellers were reportedly stuck overnight at Narita Airport after train services connecting the airport with the Tokyo region were suspended.

Rail services partially resumed on Friday morning but continued to experience delays, while flights at Narita Airport were operating normally.

Hundreds of people also spent the night at the Chiba prefectural government building after being affected by the flooding.

Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai described the situation as extremely unusual, saying he had responded to many disasters but had never experienced flooding on this scale.

The Japan Meteorological Agency later downgraded its highest-level heavy-rain warning for more than a dozen municipalities as rainfall eased on Friday morning, although officials warned that more rain was expected later in the day.

Rescue and relief operations are continuing as authorities assess the extent of the damage.

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