Record-breaking rainfall in Japan caused significant disruptions, leaving thousands of travelers stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport. The deluge resulted in floods in the surrounding area, impacting transportation, cutting power to 20,000 households, and claiming the lives of eight individuals.
Chiba prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, experienced over 360 millimeters of rainfall within 24 hours, leading to road and rail inundation during a peak holiday period in Japan. Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai described the situation as highly unusual, emphasizing the severity of the disaster.
Tragically, the fatalities included a person trapped in a submerged vehicle. The airport staff at Narita provided essential supplies like sleeping bags, water, and snacks to stranded passengers, many of whom had to spend the night at the airport due to transportation disruptions affecting around 7,000 individuals.
Despite the chaos, most flights were anticipated to resume normal operations on Friday. The heavy rainfall also caused power outages in over 20,000 homes, with a power substation flooded, and gas supply interruptions affecting nearly 13,000 residents.
In severely affected areas like Chiba city, hundreds sought shelter in government buildings, enduring the aftermath of the natural disaster. Major highways in Chiba were closed, diverting traffic onto alternative routes and causing congestion. Some rail services were suspended, although limited services from Narita to Tokyo eventually resumed to alleviate the congestion at the airport.
The unprecedented 367 millimeters of rain in Chiba within a day surpassed the previous record set in October 2013. This extreme weather event highlighted the vulnerability of the region to such calamities.