Record rainfall has triggered deadly flooding in Japan's Chiba Prefecture, east of the capital Tokyo, where police say at least four people have died. According to the latest information, four people were killed, five were injured and one person remained missing after the torrential downpours. The rain was described as unprecedented for the area, overwhelming roads and homes as the water rose rapidly across the prefecture.
In a sign of how serious the situation became, Japan's weather authority issued a level 5 warning for Chiba, the highest alert on its scale. It was the first time such a top level warning had been issued in the prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency had earlier issued a maximum level alert for landslides, urging residents to treat the danger with the utmost seriousness as conditions deteriorated.
As the floodwaters rose, authorities ordered large numbers of people to leave their homes. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people across the affected area. The scale of the evacuations reflected fears that the combination of heavy rain, rising water and the risk of landslides could put many lives in danger if residents stayed where they were.
The flooding also badly disrupted travel around Narita Airport, one of Tokyo's main international gateways. Many passengers were left stranded at the airport, and numerous trains running to and from the terminal were cancelled because of the downpours. The disruption cut off a key transport link at a time when large numbers of travellers were trying to move through the area.
Beyond the transport chaos, the storm left a trail of damage across Chiba. Power outages hit the region, leaving thousands of homes without electricity as the rain continued to fall. Rescue and emergency teams faced difficult conditions as they worked through flooded streets to reach people who had been cut off by the fast rising water.
The flooding came amid a spell of extreme weather, with the rainfall in Chiba described as record breaking for the region. Such sudden and intense downpours can quickly overwhelm drainage systems and waterways, turning roads into rivers within a short space of time. The speed at which the situation escalated is part of why the authorities moved to their highest warning level.
With one person still missing, emergency crews continued their search even as the immediate priority remained protecting those still at risk. The level 5 warning underlined the severity of an event that has already claimed lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Officials urged residents to remain cautious as they began to assess the full extent of the damage across the prefecture.