Eighteen dead, more than 50 missing and half a million evacuated as Typhoon Talas rips through Japan

Heavy rains and mudslides killed at least 18 people and left more than 50 missing after a powerful typhoon ripped through western Japan



Typhoon Talas brought heavy rain and winds of up to 68mph after making landfall on Shikoku island on Saturday.

The season's 12th typhoon is now moving slowly north across the Sea of Japan , the country's Meteorological Agency said today.



Beyond belief: Firefighters searching among collapsed houses following a landslide in Tanabe, Wakayama

Drowned world: Typhoon Talas swamps a town in Kiho, central Japan on Sunday

Brought down: An iron bridge over the Nachi River in Nachikatsuura town, Wakayama

Talas had crossed the southern Japanese island of Shikoku and the central part of the main island of Honshu early on Sunday.

But because of the storm's slow speed, weathermen warned heavy rains and strong winds would continue, increasing the likelihood of more floods and landslides.

Nearly 500,000 people in western and central Japan were issued with evacuation orders and advisories , the Kyodo News agency reported.

The worst hit areas were in Nara and Wakayama prefectures, with homes swept away by flood waters and landslides.

Destruction: Firefighters and rescue workers search through the debris of houses collapsed by a landslide in Tanabe, Wakayama

Washed away: Picture taken by police shows debris of a destroyed house at Totsukawa village in Nara prefecture, western Japan

Three homes were buried in a landslide in Wakayama prefecture, and one woman who was rescued later died, four remained missing and a 14-year old girl was saved from the debris, police said.



They said 10 people were dead and 32 people were missing.

In nearby Nara Prefecture NHK TV said s even people were missing after their homes were swept away down a river.

Flattened: Rescue workers and Japan Self-Defence Force soldiers search for missing people in Tanabe

Lifeline: Crew members in a rescue helicopter winch up a person trapped by a flood in Nachikatsuura

Wash out: A road destroyed during heavy rains in Tanabe city in Wakayama prefecture, western Japan

Police said that among the dead were a woman who appeared to be in her 30s whose body was found in a river in Ehime prefecture on Shikoku, police said.



And a 73-year-old man in Nara prefecture died after a landslide caused his house to collapse.

TV footage showed a bridge swept away after intense rainfall, which swelled a normally placid river to a raging brown torrent.

People holding umbrellas were seen wading through knee-deep water in city streets.