Japan: Typhoon Talas kills 29 so far

Typhoon Talas in Japan has so far killed 29 people and 56 remain missing, in the worst typhoon since 2004, CNN reports.

Japanese Police, firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces resumed searching for the missing people on Monday in Nara and Wakayama prefectures in Western Japan, which were hardest hit by the season's 12th typhoon.

The typhoon unleashed record rainfall over three days in three prefectures, causing flooding and mudslides, that have made relief work difficult.

They found the body of an 82-year-old man who went missing in the village of Totsukawa in Nara.

Xinhua reports:

The number of victims from Typhoon Talas could grow over a wide area including the Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka, as flooded rivers, damaged roads and mudslides have hampered relief work, Kyodo quoted rescuers as saying.

The damage caused by Talas is the worst since Typhoon Tokage left a total of 98 people dead or missing in October 2004.

On Monday morning, the typhoon moved north along the Sea of Japan, triggering heavy rain in central Japan's Tokai region.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that the Kinki region in western Japan and eastern Japan areas could still suffer damage from landslides.

"I have been working for the prefectural office over 40 years, but this is the worst in my memory," said Tsutomu Furukawa of Wakayama prefecture, CNN reports.

Wakayama is one of three prefectures on the mountainous Kii Peninsula, where damage was among the worst.

In the town of Nachi Katsuura in Wakayama, a river flooded into a residential area, and mudslides swallowed several homes, officials said, CNN reports.

More than 16,000 residents were ordered to evacuate from the Kii Peninsula area, and roughly 30,000 other residents were encouraged to evacuate voluntarily, it reports.