Typhoon Talas cut across western Japan Saturday leaving at least two people dead and five missing after heavy rains and fierce winds, officials and press reports said. The typhoon, packing gusts of up to 108 kilometres (68 miles) per hour, made landfall on the Pacific coast of Shikoku island at about 10 am (0100 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Moving north at 15 kilometres (nine miles) per hour, it swept across the western part of Honshu island at 6 pm (0900 GMT) and was expected to move out to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) early Sunday, the agency said.
The public broadcaster NHK said a woman drowned in Matsuyama, a major city on Shikoku, and a 73-year-old man was crushed by a landslide which hit his house in the mountains of Nara prefecture.
NHK also said five were missing and 59 were injured. The National Police Agency could not immediately confirm the report. It earlier put the death toll at one with three missing and 17 injured.
Strong winds also forced the cancellations of 420 flights in western Japan regions, NHK said.
