4 dead, thousands forced to evacuate as torrential rain batters eastern Japan; PM Takaichi pledges support

TOKYO: Four people have died, and another remains unresponsive after torrential rain severely battered eastern Japan from Thursday into early Friday, triggering widespread flooding and high-level emergency alerts across the region, Kyodo News reported.

According to reports by Kyodo News, the Japan Meteorological Agency briefly issued a Level 5 warning, the highest disaster alert level on its scale, covering more than one-third of the municipalities in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. All emergency warnings were downgraded Friday morning.

Severe road flooding inundated communities across Chiba Prefecture, prompting municipal authorities in cities including Chiba and Ichikawa to urge residents to take immediate safety measures. The meteorological agency also placed several municipalities, including Chiba and neighbouring Ichihara, under Level 5 landslide warnings.

Major flooding due to heavy rain in Chiba City, Japan (13.08.2026)pic.twitter.com/UcOnuRJ5y8

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Data from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency showed that evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 residents across Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures at the peak of the deluge. As of 7 AM Friday, around 126,000 people remained under evacuation orders across both prefectures. The Cabinet Office reported that over 200 evacuation shelters were opened across Chiba, Ibaraki, Saitama, and Gunma prefectures, according to Kyodo News.

Around 1,800 stranded commuters gathered overnight at the Chiba prefectural government building, which was made available as a temporary shelter. Power outages also cut electricity to approximately 45,000 homes across Chiba Prefecture at one point, according to a subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc, Kyodo News reported.

Casualties mounted as floodwaters submerged streets and vehicles. In Ichikawa, a man spotted in floodwaters on an inundated road was later confirmed dead. In Sakura, a 66-year-old woman died after becoming trapped inside her car, while prefectural officials separately confirmed that another man found collapsed in the city had died, Kyodo News reported. (ANI)