'Unprecedented' rain kills five in Japan as thousands are stranded at an airport

Record rainfall described by forecasters as unprecedented battered Chiba prefecture, causing flooding, landslide warnings and blackouts that killed five people, according to reporting by The Guardian. Thousands of travelers were left stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport as the downpour disrupted transport.

Evacuation orders covered some 400,000 residents, a scale that shows how quickly extreme rain can turn into a regional emergency. The report describes communities cut off by rising water and crews working through dangerous conditions.

What to watch now is the cleanup in the hardest-hit areas, any further rain in the forecast, and what the episode adds to the wider picture of heavier downpours straining infrastructure.