Death toll rises to 59 after Typhoon Talas hits Japan

Death toll rises to 59 after Typhoon Talas hits Japan

2011-09-08 03:05:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Hundreds of people remain stranded in western Japan as the death toll from powerful Typhoon Talas rose to 59 on Wednesday, officials said. Dozens more are missing.

Talas is now one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in recent years after it slammed central and western Japan over the weekend, killing at least 59 people and leaving around 50 others missing. Some 200 rescue workers are searching for the missing with heavy machinery while the Coast Guard is carrying out search operations.

As of Wednesday evening, about 470 people remain stranded in Mie, Wakayama and Nara prefectures, according to NHK Television. However, many roads damaged by the storm have since been restored in most areas.

Typhoon Talas emerged as an area of low pressure west of Guam on August 22 before strengthening into a typhoon as it accelerated towards Japan. It made landfall over Kochi Prefecture on early Saturday and then tore a path of destruction through western Japan as it moved toward the northeast.

Talas was the 12th named storm, the 7th severe tropical storm and the 5th typhoon of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season. The season runs throughout 2011, with most tropical cyclones forming between May and November.

In July, the City University of Hong Kong predicted a total number of 31 tropical cyclones to form in the western North Pacific, of which 27 would become tropical storms and 17 which would further grow into a typhoon.

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