2 dead as powerful typhoon pounds Japan

A powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan, killing at least two people, injuring dozens and disrupting traffic, news reports said on Friday.

A 71-year-old man died in Minami-Awaji city after sustaining head injuries while trying to reinforce window glass, and an 85-year-old man was found dead at the base of a cliff in Shiso city after he apparently fell while going out to check on a canal, local media reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people were urged to evacuate with weather authorities warning of flooding, mudslides and high waves.
Typhoon Nangka made landfall Thursday night on the south-western island of Shikoku, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to wide areas of Japan.
Total rainfall reached 740mm in Kamikitayama village in Nara prefecture, 690mm in Odai town in Mie prefecture and 660mm in Umaji village on Shikoku, Kyodo News agency reported.
About 100 flights and some train services were cancelled in western Japan and parts of expressways in central and western Japan were closed, Kyodo said.
As of 13:00, the eye of the storm was around Yonago city on the Sea of Japan coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The slow-moving typhoon was expected to pass into the Sea of Japan later in the day and to weaken to a tropical depression by early Sunday, the agency said.
The 11th typhoon of the season, travelling north at a speed of 15km/h, had maximum sustained winds of 82km/h and gusts up to 126km/h, the agency said.