34 Japanese Dead in Worst Typhoon in 7 Years
By wchung | 19 May, 2025

Typhoon Talas has left 34 people dead and 56 missing, making it the deadliest storm to hit Japan since October 2004 when Tokage left 98 people dead or missing.

Talas focused its destructive force on western Japan, including historic Nara, Japan’s imperial capital from 710 to 784 and generally considered the birthplace of Japanese civilization. The storm cut a wide path across the main island of Honshu but no significant damage was reported in Tohoku which is still recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Evacuation orders or advisories had been issued to 460,000 people on Talas’s approach, but at least 3,600 people have been stranded.

Talas was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday afternoon, but the death toll could grow as flooded rivers, damaged roads and mudslides hamper reliefefforts, including the Kii Peninsula, rescuers said.

On Monday police, firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces continued searching for the missing in Nara and Wakayama prefectures.

In Mie, Nara and Wakayama prefectures, power and telephone lines remained down, with roughly 194,000 households experiencing blackouts as of 3 p.m.

About 36,000 telephones were inoperative in the prefectures as of 4:30 p.m., NTT West Corp. said, adding that it didn’t know when service would be restored.

Wakayama authorities said that 4,702 residents from the municipalities of Nachikatsuura, Tanabe, Shingu and Hidakagawa were cut off by landslides or floods and that SDF helicopters are attempting to rescue them.

“We will do everything we can to rescue people and search for the missing,” said Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who took office a day before the typhoon hit.

On Monday morning Talas turned northeasterly along the Sea of Japan, bringing heavy rain in the Tokai region.

Landslides remained a threat in the Kinki region and in eastern areas as well as heavy rain are expected through Tuesday in the Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.

In Kiho, Mie Prefecture, where the Onodani River overflowed, the SDF rescued 14 people who were stranded.

In Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, rescuers found the body of Saki Teramoto, 24, the daughter of Mayor Shinichi Teramoto. His wife, Masako, 51, is still missing.

Saki Teramoto was due to be engaged Sunday but disappeared while checking on the Nachi River near their home.

The town took damage to key transport and cultural assets as well, including the JR Kisei Line bridge, which spans the Nachi River, and the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine.

Much of the 39-meter bridge was washed away by floods, local authorities said, although no trains were operating at the time.

The shrine, a World Heritage-designated Sacred Site and Pilgrimage Route in the Kii Mountain Range, was hit by mudslides.

In Nara Prefecture, meanwhile, officials at Hase Temple, a designated national cultural asset, said part of the roof was shattered when part of a tree fell down after being damaged by heavy rain and wind.