CHIBA, Japan: Four people died and one remained unresponsive as heavy rain pounded eastern Japan on Thursday (Aug. 13) and continued into early today, with the weather agency issuing a Level 5 warning, the highest on its scale, for downpours in more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo.
Road flooding occurred across the prefecture, while the cities of Chiba and Ichikawa, among others, urged citizens to immediately take safety measures, Kyodo News reported.
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 this morning.
The torrential rain was brought by warm, humid air flowing into eastern Japan that combined with cold air above to make atmospheric conditions extremely unstable, the agency said.
Heavy rain could continue in Chiba and nearby areas through today.
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.
As of 7:00 am today, the evacuation orders remained in effect for around 126,000 people in the two prefectures, according to the agency.
Over 200 evacuation centres were set up in Chiba and Ibaraki as well as Saitama and Gunma prefectures, according to the Cabinet Office.
Water gushed from manholes in the city of Chiba, while people waded through knee-high water as they rushed to get home.
Around 1,800 people gathered in the prefectural government building, which was made available for stranded commuters.
In Chiba’s Chuo Ward, hourly precipitation reached 115 millimetres on 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. – BERNAMA-KYODO
