THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 12, 2025 at 13:26 JST
Torrential rain pounded the Tokyo metropolitan area on Sept. 11, flooding buildings, disrupting transportation services and causing the crushing death of a worker at a container terminal, officials said.
Warm and humid air flowing into an autumn rain front created unstable atmospheric conditions that unleashed intense thunderstorms in the capital over a short period.
Meguro Ward in central Tokyo received 134.0 millimeters of rain in the hour until 3:20 p.m., according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.
“You can usually see the riverbed, but now the water level has increased about four times higher than normal,” said a 16-year-old high school student while watching the swollen Megurogawa river in the ward.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, 92.0 mm of rain fell in Setagaya Ward, 88.5 mm in Ota Ward and 70.5 mm in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, over one hour in the afternoon.
Rivers flooded in Tokyo’s Setagaya and Shinagawa wards, prompting the ward offices to temporarily issue Level 5 evacuation alerts, the highest for a disaster, the Tokyo metropolitan government said.
In Ota Ward, a man operating heavy machinery was killed by a falling storage container at a terminal, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Fire Department.
The MPD suspects the heavy rain and strong winds caused the container to topple over.
Another worker suffered chest injuries in the accident but was conscious, police said.
In Tachikawa, western Tokyo, residents made emergency calls about a fire in an apartment building caused by a lightning strike on the second floor.
A woman in her 90s was taken to hospital after inhaling smoke in the building but she remained conscious.
The transport ministry said takeoffs and landings at Haneda Airport in Ota Ward were suspended due to the thunderstorm.
Japan Airlines had canceled 34 flights by 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, and All Nippon Airways had grounded 31 flights by 6 p.m.
The Tokaido Shinkansen also temporarily suspended operations between Tokyo and Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.
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A residential area in Tokyo's Ota Ward is flooded on Sept. 11. (Provided by an Asahi Shimbun employee)
