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At least 26 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a
powerful typhoon left a trail of devastation across western and central
Japan.


Rescuers search destroyed houses for missing people after a landslide
triggered by Typhoon Talas Photo: AP


By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo


7:28AM BST 05 Sep 2011


Thousands were stranded and more than 50 people still missing after
Typhoon Talas triggered widespread flooding, the collapse of house and
dangerous landslides.


Close to half a million people were evacuated from the region over the
weekend, as the typhoon brought record rainfall levels and winds
travelling at speeds of up to 68 mph.


The typhoon, which affected a region hundreds of miles from the
earthquake-hit Tohoku area, is the 12th storm of the season and is
believed to be the worst to hit Japan since 2004 when 98 people were
killed or left missing.


The storm gave rise to eerily familiar scenes reminiscent of the March
11 tsunami, as raging floodwaters inundated entire villages and swept up
homes, cars and railway bridges.


In Wakayama prefecture alone, Typhoon Talas -- a word from the
Philippines meaning "sharpness" - left ten people dead and 32 missing,
with one landslide buried at least three homes.


Seiji Yamamoto, a local official, said: "There are so many roads out
that it is hard to count them all. Hundreds of homes have been flooded."
Nearby in Nara prefecture, seven people were reported missing after
their homes were swept down a river, according to NHK reports, while a
73-year-old man died following the collapse of his house in a landslide.


Nijojo Castle, one of Kyoto's cultural treasures and long-running
tourist attraction, was also damaged in the storm, with a large piece of
plaster torn from the gate wall.


The government's management of the typhoon is one of the first tests for
the prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, who was sworn in only one day before
the storm made landfall.


In one of his first acts in office, Mr Noda vowed that the government
would provide assistance as speedily and efficiently as possible as
rescue efforts continue across the regions.


"We will do everything we can to rescue people and search for the
missing," he said


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