7,000 people sleep in Japan airport after 'extremely unusual' rains disrupt rails routes

7,000 people sleep in Japan airport after 'extremely unusual' rains disrupt rails routes At least eight people have died and more and thousands more were affected by the heavy rains - over 360mm of rain fell in 24 hours in "an extremely unusual situation" At least eight people have died and more than 10,000 travellers and commuters were left stranded across a prefecture in Japan. About 7,000 people slept inside terminals at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Thursday, August 13 as floodwaters cut off rail and road links. Emergency workers distributed sleeping bags, water and food to families in departure halls. "I never thought I'd spend the night at the airport," one stranded traveller told Japanese broadcaster NHK. "We're never going to forget this trip." Over 360mm of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba. "This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan’s historical weather standards," Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said. "I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this." Rail links reopened in stages on Friday morning, but delays, cancellations and queues remained. Flights were operating largely as scheduled. The chaos extended beyond the airport. More than 4000 people spent the night inside JR Soga station after surrounding streets were flooded with water that reached as high as an adult's waist, according to reports. Weather experts said the disaster was caused by a rare combination of cold air high in the atmosphere, an large supply of warm, moist air and converging winds over Chiba.