Record Rainfall Batters Tokyo Region, Leaving Four Dead And Thousands Stranded

Record-breaking rainfall in areas east of Tokyo triggered severe flooding overnight, killing at least four people, leaving one missing and disrupting train and air services across the region.

The worst-hit areas were in Chiba prefecture, where torrential rain flooded roads, homes and railway tracks, stranded thousands of people and caused widespread power outages. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) downgraded its highest-level heavy rain warning for more than a dozen municipalities on Friday morning as the downpour eased, but warned that more rain was expected later in the day.

The scale of the rainfall was unprecedented. Chiba City recorded 11.5 centimetres of rain in just one hour, while Sakura received 9.7 centimetres in an hour — both setting new records. JMA officials said exceptionally intense rainfall had been observed across the affected areas.

At least four people were confirmed dead, while another remained missing, according to Chiba authorities. The victims included a man found floating on a flooded road in Ichikawa and a woman trapped inside a flooded vehicle in Sakura. Another person rescued from a vehicle in Kashiwa was presumed dead.

The flooding also brought transportation to a standstill. Around 4,000 stranded passengers spent the night at Soga railway station, prompting the Ground Self-Defence Force to send buses to evacuate them. Thousands of travellers were also stranded at Narita Airport, as train services connecting the airport with surrounding areas were suspended.

More than 80 homes were flooded, while nearly 230,000 residents across Chiba were advised to seek shelter. Hundreds of people took refuge overnight at the Chiba prefectural government building.

Power outages added to the disruption, with around 23,000 homes without electricity on Friday morning, although the figure had fallen sharply from about 68,000 earlier.

Authorities continued rescue and recovery operations as residents assessed the damage and prepared for further rainfall later in the day.