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Record Downpour in Chiba Kills Nine as Floods Submerge Homes and Roads

Recovery will take days with crews focused on searches, house-by-house damage checks and removal of hundreds of flooded vehicles.

Overview

  • The torrential rains that began late Thursday produced about 30 cm of rain in 24 hours, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to call the event "unprecedented" for the region.
  • Chiba prefectural authorities have confirmed nine deaths and one person missing and say about 1,300 homes were flooded with one house destroyed, 23 half-destroyed and 49 partially damaged.
  • Around 463 people were staying in 92 evacuation shelters as officials continued rescue work and damage surveys in hard-hit cities including Ichihara and Oamishirasato.
  • Floodwaters left hundreds of vehicles abandoned on roads; prefecture crews found 215 flooded cars on prefecture-managed routes and removed 132 while local media put the total abandoned vehicles far higher.
  • Officials warn saturated ground and ongoing assessments mean recovery will span days and could reveal more damage, and scientists note such extreme downpours are increasing in frequency with human-driven climate change.