Japan's record rains strand thousands at Narita airport, kill eight

Thousands of travelers were stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport as record rainfall battered Japan on Friday. The downpour brought floods to the surrounding Chiba area, disrupting transportation, cutting power to 20,000 homes, and claiming eight lives.

During one of Japan's busiest holiday periods, parts of Chiba received over 360 mm (14 inches) of rain in 24 hours. This inundated roads and railways, prompting the deployment of soldiers for rescue efforts. Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai described the situation as extremely unusual, stating he had never experienced such a disaster in his past responses.

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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.

Among the eight fatalities was an individual trapped in a submerged vehicle, according to public broadcaster NHK. At Narita airport, staff distributed sleeping bags, water, and snacks to hundreds of passengers. Around 7,000 people were stranded on Thursday due to transport disruptions, leading to widespread chaos. One traveler, Minoru Yamasaki, recounted a four-hour taxi queue and a hotel booking that was ultimately unusable, forcing him back to the airport.

Utility Tokyo Electric Power reported that over 20,000 homes lost power after a substation flooded. Gas supply to nearly 13,000 homes was also temporarily cut. In Chiba city, hundreds spent the night in makeshift evacuation centers. Major highways were shut, and several rail services were suspended, though some routes from Narita to Tokyo eventually resumed.

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I queued for a taxi, but the wait was four hours.