Record-Breaking Heavy Rain Hits Japan's Chiba Prefecture: 4 Dead, 7,000 Stranded Overnight at Narita Airport

Record-breaking heavy rainfall pounded Chiba Prefecture in central Honshu, Japan, leaving four people dead and stranding thousands of airport passengers overnight.

According to Kyodo News and NHK, Chiba Prefecture announced at a disaster countermeasures headquarters meeting held on the morning of the 14th that the torrential rains, which began the previous afternoon, resulted in four deaths, one person missing, and one person in cardiac arrest.

Japan's Meteorological Agency reported that moisture-laden air collided with cold air aloft, triggering downpours exceeding 100 millimeters per hour in Chiba Prefecture starting from the afternoon of the 13th.

In the city of Chiba, precipitation reached 348 millimeters over the 12-hour period up to 1:40 a.m. on the 14th, marking the highest figure since records began.

This amount is roughly three times the region's typical total rainfall for the entire month of August, falling all at once.

At an observation station in Midori Ward, Chiba City, about 450 millimeters of rainfall was recorded over a six-hour span starting from 6 p.m. on the 13th.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest-level Level 5 heavy rain special emergency warning to 22 cities and municipalities in Chiba Prefecture.

At Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture, train and bus services were halted due to the downpour, leaving approximately 7,000 passengers stranded at the airport as of 4 a.m. on the 14th.

Airport authorities provided water, food, and sleeping bags to the stranded travelers.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that torrential downpours could continue and urged vigilance against potential landslides, river flooding, and low-lying area inundations.

(File Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.