Record rainfall strands thousands at Japan Airport, kills eight

TOKYO: Record-breaking rainfall in Japan’s Chiba prefecture left thousands of travellers stranded at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, disrupted roads and rail services and claimed at least eight lives, as emergency crews and soldiers joined relief efforts on Friday.

More than 360 millimetres of rain fell within 24 hours in parts of Chiba, an area adjoining Tokyo, triggering widespread flooding during one of Japan’s busiest holiday periods. Authorities said the downpour also disrupted power supplies, leaving more than 20,000 homes without electricity.

The eight fatalities included a person who was reportedly trapped inside a submerged vehicle, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing local authorities and police.

The unprecedented rainfall caused major disruption at Narita airport, where around 7,000 passengers were stranded after transport services were severely affected. Airport staff provided sleeping bags, drinking water and snacks as travellers spent the night inside terminals.

Minoru Yamasaki, a 48-year-old Chiba resident returning from holiday, described the difficult situation, saying he waited about four hours for a taxi before returning to the airport after a hotel could not accommodate him.

Airport officials said most flights were expected to operate normally on Friday, although transport links remained affected.

Several railway services were suspended, while some trains connecting Narita with Tokyo resumed, helping reduce congestion around the international airport. Major highways in Chiba were also closed, forcing motorists onto alternative routes and creating severe traffic jams.

In Chiba city, among the worst-hit areas, hundreds of residents spent the night at temporary evacuation centres in government buildings.

Tokyo Electric Power reported that flooding at a power substation contributed to widespread outages. Gas supplies to nearly 13,000 households were also temporarily disrupted.

Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai described the situation as extremely unusual, saying he had never experienced a disaster of this scale.

Weather authorities said 367mm of rain was recorded over 24 hours, surpassing the previous Chiba record of 309mm set in October 2013.

With further disruption possible, authorities continued rescue and recovery operations while urging residents to remain alert to flooding and other weather-related hazards.