Thousands stranded as heavy rain kills at least four in Japan

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

More than a dozen cars were abandoned on low-lying roads in Chiba's rural areas, and at Narita, passengers were seen sleeping in the terminal amidst massive check-in lines. A British traveler, Philip, described a nine-hour journey before finally arriving at the airport early Friday morning, with only a sleeping bag to rely on. 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 collapsed on the street, and a person of undetermined gender and age.

Public broadcaster NHK reported as many as eight deaths, though this figure may be higher. Roughly 26,000 households in Chiba prefecture lost power, and 45 houses flooded, with another 39 experiencing water seepage below the floorboards. Stranded air travelers expressed surprise at spending the night at the airport, with one saying, "We're never going to forget this trip."

A JMA official called the rainfall an unprecedented level, while users on social media noted airport staff providing free water, food, and sleeping bags. Hundreds spent the night in shelters in Chiba due to suspended train services, with cars submerged up to the headlights in Kashiwa city. Level-5 warnings were later downgraded to level-4, and scientists attribute the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events to human-driven climate change.