At least five dead in Japan after 'unprecedented' rains flood Chiba, strand nearly 7,000 at Narita airport

Unprecedented rain of 115mm per hour flooded Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo on Thursday night, killing at least five people and stranding nearly 7,000 passengers at Narita airport.

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Industry impact

Extreme-rainfall events that outpace historical rates can immobilize a major international airport overnight, exposing how quickly ground operations and passenger handling can be overwhelmed by weather beyond design assumptions.

What happened

Heavy rain described by authorities as 'unprecedented' struck Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, killing at least five people and stranding nearly 7,000 passengers overnight at Narita international airport. Rainfall reached 115mm per hour in Chiba, a rate authorities said was roughly equivalent to the region's normal total for the entire month of August.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest level-5 warning for heavy rain and landslides in Chiba prefecture, which officials said was the first time such an alert had been issued for the region. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people across Chiba and surrounding areas, and power outages cut electricity to approximately 45,000 homes. Roughly 1,700 people took shelter at the Chiba prefectural government building.

Among the fatalities, the body of a man believed to be in his 60s or 70s was found floating in a flooded road in the city of Ichikawa. A 66-year-old woman was killed when her car became trapped in floodwaters in the city of Sakura, and two other people died after being unable to escape from their cars during the flooding. Military personnel were dispatched to assist with relief efforts. Chiba governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning, 'This case was an extremely unusual situation. I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this.' Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed water gushing from a maintenance hole and rising higher than a nearby five-storey building in Chiba's central ward. Rain had eased by Friday, but Kazuhito Shimamoto of the ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism said, 'For rivers where the risk of flooding is already high, please take action to protect your lives.'

Who this affects

• Commercial Airports — Nearly 7,000 passengers sheltered overnight at an international airport after rainfall of 115mm per hour disrupted normal operations.
• Business Charter Operators — Operators flying into the affected region face disrupted ground access and power outages that complicate dispatch and routing.
• Charter Brokers — Clients traveling through the Tokyo area should be warned of stranding and delay risk following the first-ever level-5 warning issued there.