Record rainfall near Tokyo kills at least eight, strands thousands at Narita airport

Record rainfall hits Chiba

More than 360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, which adjoins Tokyo, with some areas recording over 100 millimetres per hour since Thursday afternoon. In the city of Chiba, 348 millimetres fell in 12 hours, roughly three times the amount normally recorded in the entire month of August. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its highest rain warning level for 14 municipalities in Chiba, the first time the maximum alert for heavy rain had been declared in the prefecture. A JMA representative warned at a press conference on Thursday evening that the region was approaching extraordinary rainfall levels.

We are heading toward an unprecedented level of intense rainfall.

The warning level was later downgraded on Friday.

Rising death toll

Authorities confirmed at least four deaths on Friday morning, including a 66-year-old woman trapped in her submerged car, a man found floating on a flooded road, and another man who collapsed in the street and died after being rushed to hospital. The Chiba disaster management office said it feared more victims, with one person found unconscious and another reported missing. By Friday afternoon, public broadcaster NHK reported eight dead, citing local police and firefighters. Authorities declined to confirm that higher figure to AFP. Soldiers were dispatched to the area to assist with relief efforts.

Thousands stranded at Narita

Between 6,000 and 7,000 travelers spent the night stranded at Narita airport, one of Tokyo's two main international hubs, after numerous trains to and from the airport were cancelled through Friday afternoon. Airport staff distributed water, food, and sleeping bags to passengers who bedded down in the terminals. An airport spokesperson said all flights were scheduled to operate normally on Friday, though Japan Airlines warned of possible delays. Several rail services remained suspended on Friday morning, though some trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations.

Widespread disruption

Between 23,000 and 26,000 households in Chiba were without power, according to the local disaster management office and figures reported on Friday. Major highways, including routes linking Narita airport to central Tokyo, remained closed, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, per highway operator NEXCO East. Hundreds of people spent the night in shelters in Chiba, NHK reported, broadcasting images of cars submerged up to their headlights in the city of Kashiwa. Hundreds more were stranded at Chiba railway station due to suspended services, an AFP journalist observed on Thursday evening. Between 200,000 and 220,000 people were urged to evacuate their homes.

Governor's response

Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning that the situation was extraordinary even by Japan's standards.

This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan's historical weather standards. I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this.

The disaster struck during one of Japan's busiest holiday weeks, when many people were traveling. Earlier in the week, Japan, the Philippines, and China were also affected by multiple storms simultaneously, with tens of thousands in Okinawa losing power and Chinese authorities evacuating more than one million people over the preceding weekend.