Japan has issued its highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region after exceptionally intense rainfall caused widespread flooding, power outages and disruption to transport.
Footage broadcast by public broadcaster NHK showed vehicles submerged in floodwaters in a residential area of Kashiwa in Chiba Prefecture.
“This is shaping up to be an unprecedented level of heavy rain,” a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official told a news conference, warning residents in areas affected by the torrential rainfall to take immediate action to protect themselves.
“In areas hit by the localised rainfall, lives may be in imminent danger. Please secure your safety immediately,” the official said.
More than 100,000 households, mainly in Chiba but also in the neighbouring Ibaraki and Saitama regions, were urged to evacuate, according to Japan’s disaster management authorities.
Hundreds of people were stranded at Chiba Station after train services were suspended, an AFP journalist reported.
Approximately 100 millimetres (3.9 inches) of rain fell in the vicinity of Sakura City in Chiba within the hour before 9.00 p.m. local time, NHK reported, citing the JMA.
The JMA official said the agency had issued its highest-level heavy rain warning for Chiba for the first time. The warning, issued for more than a dozen cities in the prefecture, indicates a high risk of an imminent disaster caused by extreme rainfall.
NHK reported that the severe weather also caused power outages affecting more than 10,000 households in Chiba. Authorities received reports of landslides, mudslides and flooded homes in several cities.
“This happened all of a sudden so it was a complete surprise. The power is out so I’m worried whether I can open my business in the next couple of days,” a woman in Ichikawa City told NHK.
Scientists have warned that human-driven climate change is contributing to more frequent, prolonged and intense extreme weather events.