On Thursday, eastern Japan was hit by an unprecedented downpour that triggered catastrophic flooding, widespread infrastructure disruption, and at least one confirmed fatality, according to Japanese government officials. The extreme weather event, coming just one day after a separate tropical storm lashed the country’s northeastern regions, has left tens of thousands without power and forced hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate high-risk areas near the Japanese capital.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its highest-level rain emergency warning for 14 municipalities across Chiba Prefecture, urging immediate precaution against two major life-threatening hazards: flash flooding and deadly landslides. Speaking at a nationally televised emergency briefing, JMA senior forecast official Takuya Hosomi confirmed that the rainfall totals recorded across the region had surpassed all previous historical records, marking an unprecedented weather event for the area.
Local disaster management authorities confirmed one fatality in Ichikawa City, where the downpour has created some of the worst damage. In nearby Kashiwa City, emergency crews successfully pulled two people trapped inside a submerged vehicle to safety, though no update has been released on their current medical condition as of Thursday evening.
Public broadcaster NHK shared on-the-ground footage showing severe conditions across the affected region: pedestrians outside Ichikawa Train Station forced to wade through floodwaters reaching knee depth, dozens of passenger and commercial vehicles stranded on submerged roadways, and major public transit disruptions. Multiple regional rail lines suspended all services through the area, bringing local passenger travel to a standstill.
Power infrastructure was also heavily impacted. TEPCO Power Grid, the main energy provider for the region, reported that approximately 68,000 residential properties were left without electricity by Thursday afternoon. JMA officials warned that the extreme precipitation would continue through Thursday night, forecasting hourly rainfall rates that could exceed 100 millimeters, or 4 inches, across Chiba City and multiple neighboring urban centers. In response to the ongoing danger, Japanese authorities issued evacuation advisories for nearly 220,000 residents, urging them to move to designated emergency shelters or higher, safer ground immediately.
This extreme rain event follows closely on the heels of a tropical storm that hit northeastern Japan just 24 hours earlier. That earlier storm left at least seven people injured, downed hundreds of trees across affected regions, and caused large-scale power outages before moving out of the area.