Chiba rains: Railway services disrupted; evacuation orders in place

Evacuation orders were issued for at least 80,000 people in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, where rivers were rising precariously close to their banks and authorities warned the rain could continue for a few more hours. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

Parts of Chiba were pounded by 86 mm (3.4 inches) of rain in an hour on Friday morning, the third natural disaster to hit the area in the past six weeks. Much of Chiba lost power, some areas for weeks, in Typhoon Faxai in September and then were hit by heavy rains due to Hagibis.

Railway services were also disrupted in Chiba prefecture, Narita Airport rail link to Tokyo JR's Narita Express has been suspended for the day.

The rain was expected to pound the Tokyo area until evening and then move north. Total rainfall in the area around Tokyo was likely to range from 200 to 300 mm (8-12 inches) by evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Update: Water discharge from Chiba dams has been suspended, national broadcaster NHK reported. It was earlier being reported that water from Takataki Dam and Kameyama Dam will be released.