Record rain in Japan kills four, leaves thousands stranded at Narita airport

TOKYO: Record rainfall left thousands of travellers stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport on Friday (Aug 14) morning as flooding in the surrounding area disrupted transport, knocked out power to homes and claimed at least four lives.

The torrential downpours late on Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.

More than 360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, which adjoins the capital Tokyo, inundating roads and railways.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said that as of 5.30am on Friday (4.30am, Singapore time), about 27,000 households in Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures were without power, NHK reported.

Authorities said four deaths have been confirmed so far, including at least one person trapped in a submerged vehicle. Soldiers have been dispatched to the area to help with relief efforts.

"This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan's historical weather standards," Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning. "I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this."

"This is shaping up to be an unprecedented level of heavy rain," a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official had told a news conference on Thursday.

The transport disruption left around 7,000 people stranded at Narita, an airport spokesperson said, adding that all flights are scheduled to operate normally on Friday. Japan Airlines said some flights may experience delays but no cancellations are currently expected.

Users on social media said that airport staff handed out free water, food and sleeping bags.

"I never thought I'd spend the night at the airport but it is what it is and we are learning," one stranded air traveller told NHK.

"We're never going to forget this trip," he said.

Major highways in Chiba, including routes linking Narita airport, one of Japan's main international transport hubs, with central Tokyo, remained closed, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, according to highway operator NEXCO East.

Several rail services remained suspended on Friday morning, though some trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations.

Hundreds of people were also left stranded in Chiba station due to suspended train services, an AFP journalist saw.

Hundreds spent the night in shelters in Chiba, NHK reported, showing cars in flood water up to their headlights in Kashiwa city.

"This happened all of a sudden so it was a complete surprise. The power is out so I'm worried whether I can open my business in the next couple of days," a woman in Chiba's Ichikawa city told NHK on Thursday.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, prolonged and intense.