Heavy rains in Japan leave 4 dead and thousands stranded at Narita airport

Record rainfall left thousands of travellers ‌stranded at Tokyo’s Narita Airport on Friday morning as Flooding in the surrounding area disrupted transport, knocked out power to homes and claimed at least four lives.More than 360mm (1 foot 2 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, which adjoins the capital ⁠Tokyo, inundating roads and railways and knocking out power to nearly 25,000 households ‌during one of Japan’s busiest holiday weeks.Authorities said four deaths have been confirmed so far. Soldiers have been sent to ⁠the area to ⁠help with relief efforts.A person wades through a flooded road in Chiba prefecture, Japan, on Thursday. Photo: KyodoThose killed included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating on a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman stuck in her submerged car, the Chiba prefecture Disaster Management Office said.The third fatality was a man of unknown age found collapsed on the street and the fourth a person of undetermined gender and age. A fifth person was feared dead and a sixth unaccounted for.“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.”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" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="121094" data-entity-type="organization">Japan Airlines said some flights may ⁠experience delays but no cancellations are currently expected.