[Anchor]
Record-breaking heavy rain battered Chiba Prefecture in Japan yesterday (August 13). Three times the average monthly rainfall poured down in just 12 hours. The sudden downpour left 8 people dead and stranded thousands at airports and subways.
Reporting from Tokyo, this is Correspondent Mun Junmo.
[Reporter]
Swollen rainwater flows fiercely along the roads.
Vehicles submerged up to their wheels have stalled everywhere.
People try pushing a car from behind, but it does not budge.
[Voice (Citizen): No way, it's impossible. Stop, just stop.]
Water surges inside a bus stalled in the middle of the road, leaving people helpless.
The sudden downpour forced commuters to give up on heading home.
[Voice (Office Worker): I couldn't risk driving back, so I decided to wait it out at the office.]
From yesterday afternoon until early morning, the highest level of special heavy rain warnings was issued for more than 20 local governments within Chiba Prefecture.
In Chiba City in particular, 348 mm of rain poured down in just 12 hours—roughly triple the average total precipitation for the entire month of August.
It was the highest level recorded since statistics began.
Evacuation orders were issued for 400,000 people, and power outages affected some 45,000 households.
A total of 8 people lost their lives, including 3 who were unable to escape their vehicles due to flooded roads.
Train and bus services experienced disruptions, and around 7,000 people had to spend the night at Narita International Airport.
[Voice (Passenger / 8:00 AM): I've been here (at the airport) for about 12 hours. I received a sleeping bag and water.]
At the Chiba Prefectural Government office, 1,800 stranded commuters spent a sleepless night.
[Voice (Office Worker): It's tough because I couldn't sleep. There were so many people inside that it was impossible to rest.]
Even the Self-Defense Forces were deployed, transporting 4,000 people stranded in the subway to evacuation facilities using large buses.
In some areas, such as Mobara City in eastern Chiba, entire villages remained submerged like giant lakes until this afternoon.
This record-breaking downpour occurred because warm, moist air pushed up by a high-pressure system to the north met cold air lingering like a dome over the ground, triggering a series of rain clouds.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has urged caution, warning that strong rainfalls of over 50 mm per hour could continue tonight.
(Video Journalist: Han Chul-min, Moon Hyun-jin | Video Editor: Kim Byung-jik | Design: Kim Ye-ji)
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