Thousands stranded as heavy rain kills at least four in Japan

Heavy rain in eastern Japan has left at least four people dead and stranded thousands at Narita Airport, according to officials. Torrential downpours triggered landslide warnings and power outages, prompting local authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain warning in the Chiba region for the first time. Hundreds of cars were abandoned on low-lying roads, and passengers were seen sleeping bags piled up in the airport terminal.

At least one man in his 60s or 70s was found floating in a flooded road, while a 66-year-old woman was trapped in her submerged car. A further two fatalities were reported, though the victims' ages and genders remain unknown. Roughly 26,000 households in Chiba prefecture were left without power, and more than 45 houses flooded. Trains to and from Narita were cancelled until Friday afternoon, leaving around 6,000 people stranded overnight.

Airport staff provided free water, food, and sleeping bags to those affected. Public broadcaster NHK reported that as many as eight people may have died in the disaster. Scientists attribute the severity of the weather to human-driven climate change, a phenomenon making extreme weather events more frequent, prolonged, and intense.