TOKYO, 14th August, 2026 (WAM) -- Six people died as heavy rain pounded eastern Japan on Thursday and early Friday, with the weather agency issuing the highest downpour warning of Level 5 in more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, Kyodo News reported.
The cities of Chiba and Ichikawa, among other municipalities, began urging citizens to immediately take safety measures on Thursday evening, while road flooding occurred across the prefecture, immobilising cars and causing traffic jams.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also issued a Level 5 landslide warning for several municipalities in the prefecture, including Chiba and neighbouring Ichihara. All of the warnings were downgraded on Friday morning.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures at one point.
The rain caused extensive transportation disruptions in Chiba as well as in parts of Tokyo, leaving many commuters and holidaymakers stranded.
Around 7,000 people spent the night at Narita Airport in the prefecture as the downpour paralysed train and bus operations, the airport operator said.
In Chiba's Chuo Ward, hourly precipitation reached 115 millimetres Thursday night, around the same level as the area's monthly rainfall in August in a normal year.
Power outages at one point affected around 45,000 homes in Chiba Prefecture, according to a subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.