Narita (Japan) (AFP) – At least five people died in eastern Japan after "unprecedented" heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday.
Issued on: 14/08/2026 - 07:38Modified: 14/08/2026 - 10:53
3 min Reading time
The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.In Chiba's rural parts, more than a dozen cars were left abandoned on low-lying roads, an AFP journalist saw.At Narita, sleeping bags piled up as passengers slept all over the terminal, with massive lines forming for check-in across the airport. A traveller from the United Kingdom who gave his name as Philip told AFP that he had to go through a nine-hour journey, including a taxi ride, before finally arriving at the airport early Friday morning. With a sleeping bag in hand, he said he has "just been trying to get some sleep and watching Netflix". "Just get on with it, really. Nothing else you can do," he said.At Chiba's disaster management meeting convened Friday afternoon, an official said five people were confirmed dead. The prefecture had previously said those killed included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating in a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman stuck in her submerged car.Among other fatalities were a man of unknown age who was found collapsed on the street, and a person of undetermined gender and age. Public broadcaster NHK reported as many as eight people may have died.Meanwhile, close to 26,000 households across Chiba prefecture were without power, the disaster management office said.
