Summary
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Eastern Japan’s Chiba region, which neighbours Tokyo, has been pummelled by torrential rain, with at least four people dead, five injured and one missing
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More than 100,000 households have been urged to evacuate after the severe weather triggered landslides and power outages
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For the first time in Chiba, Japan’s weather authority last night issued a level 5 warning, its highest alert level, before downgrading to level 4 this morning
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A Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official told a news conference “this is shaping up to be an unprecedented level of heavy rain”
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Footage from Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed cars submerged in floodwaters
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Emergency warning downgraded, authorities continue to warn of landslide and flooding riskspublished at 02:59 BST
Image source, Getty ImagesThe deluge on Thursday prompted Japan’s meteorological agency to issue a Level 5 Emergency Warning, the highest on its scale.
This was downgraded to Level 4 by Friday morning, but authorities have continued to urge residents to stay alert for landslides, floods and swollen rivers.
The Self-Defence Forces were deployed this morning to help transport people stranded at railway stations.
About 1,800 people also spent the night at Chiba Prefectural Government building.
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Chiba governor describes rain as ‘extremely unusual’published at 02:44 BST
Japanese authorities have described
the deluge as “unprecedented”.“This case was an extremely unusual
situation, even by Japan’s historical weather standards,” Chiba Governor
Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning.“I have responded to many
disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this.”“We will prioritise saving lives and keep carrying out rescue and recovery efforts,” he added.
A woman in Chiba’s Ichikawa city told NHK the rain “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,” she said. -
Four dead as record rain soaks eastern Japanpublished at 02:39 BST
Image source, Getty ImagesRecord rainfall in Japan’s Chiba
prefecture has killed four people and left thousands stranded overnight at
Tokyo’s Narita airport.The prefecture, which sits right next
to the capital city of Tokyo, has recorded more than 100mm of rain per hour since Thursday
afternoon, authorities say.This is about three times the average
rainfall in August, and the highest volume of precipitation ever recorded in the
country.The deluge halted rail, bus and taxi
services, and cut off power to more than 20,000 households in Chiba.We’ll bring you the latest updates as
we get them – stay with us.
Original source: https://www.bbc.com/
