The death toll from the weekend typhoon in Japan rose to 40, news reports said Tuesday, with 56 missing and thousands isolated by mudslides or flooding. Of the 40 deaths, 27 were recorded in the prefecture of Wakayama, which had 34 people missing, after Typhoon Talas hit the Kii Peninsula south of Osaka especially hard, broadcaster NHK said. Around 4,500 people were stranded in the prefectures of Nara, Mie and Wakayama as roads were blocked by mudslides or flooded rivers. Water, electricity and telephone connections were cut, local media reported. Japan's military and police continued rescue operations by helicopter in the affected areas. The slow-moving typhoon brought record rainfall to many parts of Japan. Since Tuesday, more than 2,400 millimetres - about three-quarters of the normal annual precipitation - had been dumped in Kamikitayama in Nara prefecture, NHK said. This season's 12th typhoon made its way across western Japan from Saturday to early Sunday.
