Japan floods: nine dead in Chiba after wettest August in 60 years strands 1,200 cars

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.

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 flooded1,000

Homes with water above floorboards600

Houses partially destroyed70

Cars abandoned on roads1,200

Homes flooded

1000

Homes with water above floorboards

600

Houses partially destroyed

70

Cars abandoned on roads

1200

Data from the article text

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.