Record rain floods Chiba, kills four and disrupts trains and power

Overnight, unprecedented rain fell in Chiba prefecture, with 11.5 cm recorded in one hour in Chiba City and 9.7 cm in Sakura, both setting local records. The deluge flooded streets, homes and sections of railway tracks, leading to four confirmed fatalities—a man found floating in Ichikawa, a woman trapped in a car in Sakura, and a presumed dead occupant of another flooded vehicle in Kashiwa—and one person still missing.

The Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its highest warning as the rain eased, but warned of additional showers later in the day. The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched buses to transport roughly 4,000 people stranded at Soga station, while thousands more were stuck at Narita airport after train services were halted; however, airport flights resumed normal operations. Power outages impacted about 23,000 households, and hundreds of residents took refuge in the Chiba prefectural government building. Authorities continue to advise nearly 230,000 people to remain in shelters.