Japan is battling an extraordinary rainfall emergency after record-breaking downpours.
The rains killed at least four people and injured five others in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.
How extreme was it? Authorities recorded more than 100mm of rain in an hour roughly three times the region’s average August rainfall.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency called the conditions “an unprecedented level of heavy rain”.
The deluge triggered floods, landslides and widespread power cuts, leaving more than 20,000 households without electricity and forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate.
Cars were abandoned on flooded roads, while rail services and major highways were disrupted.
Narita Airport was also caught in the chaos, with around 7,000 travellers stranded overnight as transport links were cut.
Extreme Rainfall Devastates Chiba
Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said the rainfall was unlike anything he had experienced during his years responding to disasters.
“I have never experienced a case like this,” he said.
Meteorologists say warm, humid air colliding with colder air above created highly unstable conditions, driving the intense rainfall.
And Japan is not facing this alone. The Philippines and China have also been battered by powerful storms in recent days.
With more heavy rain expected, the immediate priority is rescue.
But the bigger question is becoming harder to ignore: how prepared are cities when extreme weather arrives faster and harder than ever before?
