Record rain in Japan kills at least 8, leaves thousands stranded at Narita airport
The torrential downpours triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.
An aerial view of flooded areas after heavy rain in Oamishirasato, Chiba Prefecture, Japan on Aug 14, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Kyodo)
TOKYO: Record rainfall left thousands of travellers stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport on Friday (Aug 14), as flooding in the surrounding area disrupted transport and knocked out power to more than 20,000 homes. At least eight people were killed.
The torrential downpours late on Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.
More than 360mm of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, which adjoins the capital Tokyo, inundating roads and railways.
Those killed included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating in a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman stuck in her submerged car, the Chiba Prefecture Disaster Management Office said.
A third fatality was a man of unknown age found collapsed on the street, and another person of undetermined gender and age was also killed.
Meanwhile, close to 26,000 households across Chiba prefecture were without power, the disaster management office said.
A total of 45 houses flooded in cities such as Ichikawa, Kashiwa and Sakura. Another 39 homes saw water seeping in below the floorboards.
Hundreds spent the night in shelters in Chiba, NHK reported, showing cars in flood water up to their headlights in Kashiwa city.
"This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan's historical weather standards," Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning. "I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this."
"This is shaping up to be an unprecedented level of heavy rain," a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official had told a news conference on Thursday.
The transport disruption left around 7,000 people stranded at Narita, an airport spokesperson said, adding that all flights are scheduled to operate normally on Friday. Japan Airlines said some flights may experience delays but no cancellations are currently expected.
Users on social media said that airport staff handed out free water, food and sleeping bags.
"I never thought I'd spend the night at the airport but it is what it is and we are learning," one stranded air traveller told NHK.
"We're never going to forget this trip," he said.
A traveller from the United Kingdom who gave his name as Philip told AFP that he had to go through a nine-hour journey, including a taxi ride, before finally arriving at the airport early on Friday morning.
With a sleeping bag in hand, he said he has "just been trying to get some sleep and watching Netflix now".
"Just get on with it, really. Nothing else you can do," he said.
Major highways in Chiba, including routes linking Narita airport, one of Japan's main international transport hubs, with central Tokyo, remained closed, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, according to highway operator NEXCO East.
Several rail services remained suspended on Friday morning, though some trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations.
Hundreds of people were also left stranded in Chiba station due to suspended train services, an AFP journalist saw.
"This happened all of a sudden so it was a complete surprise. The power is out so I'm worried whether I can open my business in the next couple of days," a woman in Chiba's Ichikawa city told NHK on Thursday.
The level-5 warnings of heavy rain were all downgraded to level-4 as of Friday morning.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, prolonged and intense.
