A wave of torrential rain near Tokyo has caused at least nine deaths and widespread damage in the Chiba area, where more than 1,000 homes have been flooded. According to Japanese authorities, the situation has also hit roads, electricity and communications, while the alert level for heavy rain has been raised to the maximum.
Initial toll: victims and stranded vehicles
According to the official account, some of the victims were found trapped in vehicles submerged in water, while others are believed to have drowned on roads. The incidents were recorded in Chiba prefecture, east of the Japanese capital.
Japanese media report that around 1,200 vehicles were abandoned on roads because of the flooding, showing the scale of the disruption caused by the downpour in a short period of time.
Record rainfall figures in Chiba
A meteorological station in the area recorded more than 30 centimetres of rain in 24 hours. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, August is already the wettest month recorded in Chiba in the past 60 years.
By Friday morning, cumulative rainfall in Chiba city had exceeded more than three times the usual average for the entire month of August. The data point to an extreme episode, beyond normal seasonal standards.
Damage to homes, power and infrastructure
In the area hit by the severe weather, more than 1,000 homes have been flooded, while more than 70 others suffered partial damage. The rainfall has also caused major problems for transport and communications.
Authorities have warned of landslides and also reported power outages. Efforts have meanwhile begun to remove and recover vehicles left stranded on the roads.
Highest alert and fears over climate extremes
Japanese meteorologists raised the highest heavy rain alert level in Chiba prefecture for the first time. At an emergency press conference, a weather official warned that the area was heading toward an unprecedented level of intense rainfall.
Scientists have long warned that climate change linked to human activity is making such episodes more frequent, longer and more intense. The case near Tokyo is being seen as another strong signal of the growing pressure that extreme weather is placing on cities and infrastructure.
The human toll and material damage have turned Chiba into the centre of a major emergency in one of the most densely populated areas near Tokyo.
The scale of the rainfall and the chaos on the ground underline that even systems prepared for disasters face serious limits when extreme weather goes beyond every normal threshold.