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The story
On September 22, 2026, flooding from heavy rain in Chiba Prefecture that still hadn’t drained after a full night became a hot topic on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyō G” (general live-chat) board. Photos of submerged vending machines and cars, along with talk of the low-lying areas around Lake Inba and flood-control work in Mobara City, poured in one after another, with differences in terrain and drainage infrastructure becoming the central topic of debate. Some compared it to Nagoya, where floodwaters reportedly receded within a few hours, and the thread was united by one question: why won’t the water in Chiba drain?
What people said
And the ground's saturated underground now, so it can't soak up any more.
I seriously love Panda! Go, Panda! (Panda Kopanda, the old Ghibli-adjacent film)
Seriously this.
Watching Ponyo just makes me depressed now.
There was a YouTuber recently who washed his head in gushing floodwater or something and ended up seriously sick — glad I never tried that as a kid.
Thanks to the riverbank reinforcement, the river barely overflowed.
The area around Lake Inba was originally low-lying land that flooded constantly, and Sakura Station was built right on that low ground.
City hall and the old houses near Sakura Castle are properly built up on the hill, so they must've known that area would flood in heavy rain.
I thought at first he was just washing his hair in the rain like a shower, but he actually stuck his head in a ditch?
It's water pooled on a flooded road, so it's basically gutter water plus extra filth.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vJGxye3gPEik2JQm8
I get that it's on a slope, but still.
Hourly rainfall isn't that different, but over 24 hours Chiba got about 150mm more.
What's that little boat-looking thing in the first photo?
Whoa, it really is! Crazy~
Kind of exciting, honestly.
Also a little naughty.
That's about rice farming, not vegetables.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Northern Chiba Prefecture has many areas, including around Lake Inba, that were originally low-lying wetlands, and urban development has expanded into land prone to flooding whenever heavy rain hits — such as around Sakura Station. On the thread, Chiba’s slow drainage was questioned in comparison to Nagoya, where floodwaters reportedly receded within a few hours, but the rainfall comparison (a post claiming about 150mm more over 24 hours) is only a claim made on 5ch, and this article could not confirm it against official data such as from the Japan Meteorological Agency. On the other hand, in places like Mobara City, riverbank reinforcement work paid off and kept river flooding in check, showing that even within Chiba Prefecture, outcomes varied depending on how developed local flood-control infrastructure was. The prolonged flooding may stem not just from rainfall amounts but from a combination of factors, including low-lying terrain and the processing capacity of drainage facilities.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “Chiba Still Hasn’t Drained at All After a Full Night.”
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