Japan floods: nine dead in Chiba after wettest August in 60 years strands 1,200 cars
Nine people are dead and one missing after torrential rains deluged Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo on 13-14 August, flooding more than 1,000 homes and leaving an estimated 1,200 cars abandoned on roads three days later.
Death toll and victims
Nine people have died after torrential rains struck Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo on 13 and 14 August, public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday 16 August, citing its own tally. Chiba's disaster management office had listed eight dead as of Saturday evening. One person remains missing. Some victims were found trapped inside submerged vehicles, while others were found collapsed on flooded streets, according to Chiba prefectural authorities. TBS broadcast a special report from locations where people lost their lives inside vehicles, examining why drivers continued on roads that had already flooded and why some cars became trapped in underpasses. In one incident, a taxi was found submerged in a rural area, with the passenger dead.
Record rainfall
A weather station in Chiba recorded more than 300mm (nearly 12 inches) of rain in 24 hours, making this the wettest August in the region in 60 years, according to data from the Japan Meteorological Agency. By Friday morning, the city of Chiba had logged more than three times the rainfall typically seen in the whole of August, per Tokyo's land ministry. Forecasters issued the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time, alongside landslide alerts and power outages east of the capital.
- Torrential rains begin hitting Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo
- Japan Meteorological Agency official warns of 'unprecedented level of heavy rain' at hastily organized press conference
- Parts of Oami-Shirasato still flooded; roads, farmland and vehicles submerged
- Chiba disaster management office lists 8 dead
- NHK reports 9 dead in its own tally; one person remains missing
A meteorological agency official told a hastily organized news conference on Thursday evening that the storm was approaching an unprecedented level of intensity.
We are heading toward an unprecedented level of intense rainfall.
Damage and disruption
More than 1,000 homes were flooded, nearly 600 of which had water surge above the floorboards, according to the prefecture's latest tally. More than 70 houses across the Chiba region were partially destroyed. An estimated 1,200 cars remain abandoned on roads, local media reported, with authorities working to tow them or use jacks to move them. Some traffic accidents have already occurred when other vehicles crashed into the immobilized cars.
- Homes flooded
- 1000
- Homes with water above floorboards
- 600
- Houses partially destroyed
- 70
- Cars abandoned on roads
- 1200
The situation remains severe in the city of Oami-Shirasato, where even on 15 August flooded areas persisted, with water covering roads, agricultural facilities and vehicles. A taxi company employee told a Japanese television network that, due to the workload, the wait for a crane could exceed seven days.
Broader context
The rains in eastern Japan come amid heavy rainfall, cyclones and consequent flooding across several Asian countries this month, causing more than 50 deaths, affecting China, India, the Philippines and Myanmar. Scientists say human-driven climate change is making this type of extreme weather event more frequent, longer and more intense.
