Heavy rain soaks eastern Japan, prompting highest-level warning

On Thursday, torrential rain lashed eastern Japan, leading to landslides, power outages and prompting the weather authority to issue the region's first-ever highest-level heavy rain warning. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed cars submerged in floodwaters in Kashiwa, in Chiba region. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) officials described this as unprecedented levels of heavy rain, warning lives may be in imminent danger.

Over 100,000 households, primarily in Chiba but also in Ibaraki and Saitama regions, were advised to evacuate. Hundreds of people were stranded at Chiba Station due to suspended train service. In the hour before 9 p.m., approximately 100 millimeters of rain fell near Sakura city, Chiba, according to NHK. The JMA's top-level warning, issued for more than a dozen cities in Chiba, typically signals a high likelihood of a disaster due to heavy rain.

Authorities reported power outages for over 10,000 households and acknowledged landslides, mudslides and flooded houses in several cities. Scientists note human-driven climate change is making such extreme weather more frequent, prolonged and intense. The sudden onset of extreme weather caught everyone off guard. This caused widespread flooding, landslides, power outages, and disrupted transportation.