TOKYO – Torrential rain caused flooding in parts of Tokyo on Thursday, with record downpours and strong winds believed to have killed one man and injured another at a container terminal.
Local police said the two men were crushed when several stacked containers collapsed at a port in Tokyo's Ota Ward. One of the men, in his 40s, who had been operating heavy machinery to lift the containers, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his colleague, in his 60s, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Transport services were also disrupted amid the heavy rainfall. JR Tokai said shinkansen services between Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture were temporarily suspended, affecting around 100,000 passengers. JR East also reported delays to some trains in the capital.
Heavy rains and thunderstorms also affected Tokyo's Haneda airport, resulting in delays and cancellations of some services.
Tokyo's Setagaya Ward saw 92.0 millimeters of rain and Ota Ward 88.5 mm in a single hour Thursday afternoon, the heaviest on record for the areas, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Based on radar analysis, the agency estimated that certain areas in central Tokyo received over 100 mm of rain and issued a series of alerts.
The Yazawa River overflowed in Setagaya Ward, as did the Tachiai River in Shinagawa Ward. At one point, the Setagaya Ward office urged more than 1,200 households to evacuate.
Severe weather is expected to continue in parts of the country on Friday, with up to 200 mm of rain forecast in the Tokai and 100 mm in the Kanto-Koshin regions, including Tokyo, in the 24 hours through 6 p.m., the weather agency said.
by Dapper-Material5930