Two killed, thousands without power as Typhoon Talas batters Japan

TOKYO: A typhoon shook central Japan on Saturday with torrential rain and fierce winds, killing two and leaving tens of thousands of households without power, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Shizuoka city, south-west of the capital Tokyo, was hit particularly hard, seeing a record 417 mm of rainfall since the rain started on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency JMA said.

The winds at the centre of the Typhoon Talas were blowing at 65 kmh, with peak gusts of about 90 kmh, it said.

A man in his 40 s was killed in a landslide and a 29-year-old man was found dead after his car plunged into a reservoir, Kyodo reported.

The power was cut to about 120,000 households, according to Chubu Electric Power Grid, who said that a landslide had knocked over two electricity pylons.

The company said on its Twitter account that it is expecting that it may take some time to restore power due to landslides.

Central JR restarted some of its bullet train services, which had been suspended from Friday evening because of the rain.

The JMA downgraded the typhoon to an extratropical cyclone on Saturday morning, but it forecast more torrential rain in Shizuoka and urged caution for landslides and flooding.

Yokohama city, about 30 km south of Tokyo, issued an evacuation advisory on Saturday to about 3,000 residents.

At least two people were killed by Typhoon Nanmadol, one of the biggest storms to hit Japan in years, and brought ferocious winds and record rainfall to the west of the country on Monday.