A slow typhoon made landfall on the Kii Peninsula near Osaka around 3:30 p.m. Monday after traveling across southwestern Japan, disrupting traffic along the way, the Meteorological Agency said.
After impacting the Kinki region, Typhoon Noru, the fifth storm of the season, was expected to head toward eastern Japan on Tuesday, it said. Evacuation advisories were issued for tens of thousands of people in Shikoku, and roughly 280 flights were canceled Monday. Since two deaths Sunday, no further fatalities related to the typhoon had been reported, and there were no reports of people missing.
Noru's slow pace may result in extended periods of heavy rain, a possibility that has prompted the agency to issues warnings for river flooding, landslides, strong winds and high waves.
At Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, more than 120 domestic and international flights were canceled. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said they had canceled more than 200 flights, including routes linking Shikoku with Tokyo's Haneda airport.
The typhoon brought heavy rain to Shikoku and southern Kyushu on Sunday, leaving two dead and nine injured in Kagoshima, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. In neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture, three people were injured.
