Typhoon Dujuan kills 12 in Japan as record rainfall triggers landslides and floods
Typhoon Dujuan brought record rainfall to eastern Japan on September 21-22, causing flooding and landslides that killed 12 people and left three missing. The 48-hour total at Oshima, Tokyo reached 832 mm, an all-time record. Rescue operations continued in Chiba and Kanagawa, with embankment failures reported.
The storm's rainfall intensity was exceptional, with Oshima's 832 mm two-day total surpassing the previous station record of 824 mm set in October 2013. Across Kanagawa, accumulations exceeded 365 mm in Miura and 342 mm at Yamate in Yokohama, while Chiba's death toll climbed to seven after a missing man in his 70s was confirmed dead following a Kamogawa landslide.
Infrastructure damage was extensive. Three embankment breaches occurred in Chiba, including a roughly 100-meter failure along North Inbanuma near Narita and a break on the Nagato River at Sakae. Japan's TEC-FORCE emergency response unit was dispatched September 23 to assist restoration. Kanagawa reported three destroyed homes, four partially damaged buildings, and six slope failures across Yokohama, with multiple national and prefectural routes closed by sediment.
This disaster may strain local recovery capacity in Chiba and Kanagawa, where saturated ground could trigger additional landslides even without further heavy rain. Residents in low-lying areas near breached embankments may face prolonged displacement while infrastructure restoration continues. The record rainfall could also heighten awareness of climate-related risks in eastern Japan, potentially influencing how communities and agencies prepare for future extreme weather events.