Tokyo Floods Claim 6 Lives
Six people died as heavy rain pounded eastern Japan on Thursday and early Friday, with the weather agency issuing the highest downpour warning of Level 5 in more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a Level 5 landslide warning for several municipalities in the prefecture, including Chiba and neighbouring Ichihara, which were later downgraded on Friday morning. Local residents, including those in the cities of Chiba and Ichikawa, were urged to take immediate safety measures as road flooding and traffic jams occurred across the prefecture.
The torrential rain caused extensive transportation disruptions in Chiba as well as in parts of Tokyo, leaving many commuters and holidaymakers stranded. Around 7,000 people spent the night at Narita Airport in the prefecture as the downpour paralysed train and bus operations. In Chiba’s Chuo Ward, hourly precipitation reached 115 millimetres Thursday night, around the same level as the area’s monthly rainfall in August in a normal year. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures at one point, and power outages affected around 45,000 homes in Chiba Prefecture.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported the evacuation orders, while a subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. reported the power outages. The Japan Meteorological Agency’s warnings and the subsequent flooding have had a significant impact on the daily lives of residents in the affected areas.
This flooding incident is reminiscent of previous severe weather events in Japan, such as the 2018 Japan floods, which also resulted in significant damage and loss of life.
The 7,000 people stranded at Narita Airport overnight were affected by the severe transit shutdowns caused by the flooding. The airport operator reported that train and bus operations were paralysed due to the downpour.
