A typhoon left nine people dead and hundreds injured in southwestern Japan on Monday as it weakened to a tropical storm and headed out to sea.
But strong gusts continued to disrupt transport in the southwest and west of the country, forcing the cancellation of nearly 80 flights and delays in the high-speed bullet train service, airline and railway officials said.
Typhoon Shanshan’s torrential rain triggered flash floods and landslides on the main southern island of Kyushu over the weekend.
High winds overturned cars, derailed an express train and forced thousands of people to flee their homes for shelters.
About 25,000 households in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi were without electricity, utility firm Chugoku Electric Power Co said.
NHK said nine people were killed, more than 280 were injured and one -- a newspaper reporter -- was missing.
Police in the western city of Hiroshima said they had found the reporter’s car in a flooded river, and believed he had been swept away.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the storm had winds of up to around 62 miles per hour near its center at 4 p.m. on Monday, and was headed northeast in the Sea of Japan.
The weather agency warned of high waves along the Sea of Japan coast and heavy rains throughout central, eastern and northern Japan into Tuesday morning.
The agency also said the storm might make landfall on the northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday, and warned residents there to brace for strong winds.
