By Hina Suzuki
TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Record rainfall left thousands of travellers stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Friday as flooding in the surrounding area disrupted transport, knocked out power to homes and claimed at least four lives.
More than 360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, which adjoins the capital Tokyo, inundating roads and railways during one of Japan’s busiest holiday weeks.
Authorities said four deaths have been confirmed so far, including one person trapped in a submerged vehicle, while another person is missing. Soldiers have been dispatched to the area to help with relief efforts.
“This case was an extremely unusual situation,” 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.”
More than 22,000 households remained without power on Friday at 11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to utility provider Tokyo Electric Power. In Chiba city, one of the worst hit areas, hundreds of people spent the night under foil blankets at government buildings serving as temporary evacuation centres.
The transport disruption left around 7,000 people stranded at Narita, an airport spokesperson said, adding that all flights are scheduled to operate normally on Friday. Japan Airlines said some flights may experience delays but no cancellations are currently expected.
Some major highways in Chiba were shut, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, according to highway operator NEXCO East.
Several rail services also remained suspended on Friday morning, though some trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations, easing congestion at the international transport hub.
Overnight, hundreds of passengers queued to collect blankets, water bottles and snacks from airport staff before bedding down across the terminal building, footage on public broadcaster NHK showed.
“We are never going to forget this trip,” one American traveller stranded with his family at the airport told NHK.
(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura, Hina Suzuki and John Geddie; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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