Thousands stranded as heavy rain kills at least four in Japan

At least four people lost their lives in eastern Japan due to unprecedented heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and disrupted roads and rail services, authorities reported on Friday. Torrential downpours triggered landslide warnings, power outages, and the issuance of the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.

One traveler, Philip from the United Kingdom, recounted his nine-hour journey, including a taxi ride, to finally arrive at the airport early Friday morning. As of Friday noon, an additional two deaths were reported, raising the total death toll to six. The disaster management office in Chiba prefecture confirmed the fatalities included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating in a flooded road, a 66-year-old woman trapped in her submerged car, a man of unknown age found collapsed on the street, and a person of undetermined gender and age.

Public broadcaster NHK reported that around 26,000 households in Chiba were without power and that 45 houses flooded, with another 39 experiencing water seeping in below the floorboards. At Narita, one of two main airports serving Tokyo, around 6,000 people spent the night, with many stranded due to canceled trains. Airport staff provided free water, food, and sleeping bags to those stranded.

The level-5 warnings for heavy rain were downgraded to level-4 by Friday morning. Scientists attribute the severity of such extreme weather events to human-driven climate change, making them more frequent, prolonged, and intense.