Eight dead, thousands stranded in Japan’s heavy rains
At least eight people have died as record rainfall swept through eastern Japan and left thousands stranded at Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
The rains, which authorities described as “unprecedented”, knocked out power in more than 20,000 households in Chiba prefecture.
“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,” Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told journalists on Friday.
Authorities added that the eight dead victims included one person trapped in a submerged vehicle.
In Chiba, one of the worst-hit spots, hundreds of people spent the night under foil blankets at makeshift evacuation centres in government buildings.
Weather authorities noted that the 367 millimetres of rain over 24 hours in Chiba exceeded the previous record of 309 millimetres years ago.
The development came days after an earthquake, measured at a magnitude of 7.1, ripped through Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, killing several people and leaving others injured.
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