At least eight people have died and more than 10,000 travellers and commuters were left stranded across a prefecture in Japan after extremely heavy rains. About 7,000 people slept inside terminals at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Thursday, August 13, as floodwaters cut off rail and road links.
Emergency response at the airport
Emergency workers distributed sleeping bags, water and food to families in departure halls. One stranded traveller told Japanese broadcaster NHK: "I never thought I'd spend the night at the airport. We're never going to forget this trip."
Record rainfall and official reaction
Over 360mm of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba. Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said: "This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan’s historical weather standards. I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this."
Transport disruption and wider impact
Rail links reopened in stages on Friday morning, but delays, cancellations and queues remained. Flights were operating largely as scheduled. The chaos extended beyond the airport: more than 4,000 people spent the night inside JR Soga station after surrounding streets were flooded with water that reached as high as an adult's waist, according to reports. Weather experts said the disaster was caused by a rare combination of cold air high in the atmosphere, a large supply of warm, moist air and converging winds over Chiba.
