Taipei: Taiwan's Tourism Administration reported Friday that Taiwanese tour groups remained mostly unaffected following torrential rain in Japan's Chiba Prefecture, which led to widespread flooding and major transportation disruptions the previous day.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) attributed the severe weather to warm, humid air and high surface temperatures, leading to "training storms" that repeatedly hit the same areas in Chiba Prefecture. By early Friday, over 348 millimeters of rain had fallen in just 12 hours, three times the region's average rainfall for August, resulting in eight fatalities.

The severe weather caused significant disruptions, including the suspension of train and bus services, stranding nearly 7,000 travelers overnight at Narita Airport, as reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Despite these challenges, Taiwan's Tourism Administration indicated that no Taiwanese tour groups reported being affected by the storm.

Both the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan and Taiwan's major travel industry associations confirmed they had not received reports of any Taiwanese travelers needing assistance. Taiwan Tigerair stated that passengers unable to board specific flights due to the severe weather conditions could rebook their flights within seven days without additional charges. The airline advised affected passengers to contact its customer service by 9 p.m. Sunday or apply for a full refund in the form of flight credit valid for 180 days.

Taiwan Tigerair emphasized that passengers who purchased tickets through travel agencies or third-party platforms should reach out to their original booking provider for assistance. Meanwhile, Starlux Airlines informed CNA that while there was an increase in no-show passengers, its flight operations were unaffected. China Airlines reported that its flights continued as scheduled, and EVA Air noted that only one passenger missed a flight due to the weather conditions.