Typhoon claims two; one missing

Typhoon Melor made landfall early Thursday, leaving two people dead, one missing and 114 injured as it churned northeast through Honshu.

Alfresco: A man points to the former wall of his third-floor apartment in the aftermath of Typhoon Melor in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Thursday. Bottom left: Commuters wait for trains to resume at JR Shinagawa Station in Tokyo. Bottom right: A satellite photo shows the typhoon whipping through Japan. KYODO PHOTO

Melor, the season's 18th typhoon and the first to hit Japan in two years, paralyzed train systems in Tokyo and forced airlines to cancel more than 510 domestic and international flights at Narita, Chubu and Kansai airports.

East Japan Railway Co. said 3.03 million passengers were delayed by the typhoon on Thursday alone.

Major rail lines, including the Yamanote, Chuo, Keihin-Tohoku and Saikyo, suspended operations, as did the private Odakyu Line. The Yamanote, Tokyo's main commuter loop, was halted for nearly three hours.

Melor made landfall near the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture just after 5 a.m., packing winds of up to 144 kph. The Category 1 typhoon, one of the strongest seen in the past 10 years, then turned northeast and gradually weakened as it marched through the archipelago toward Hokkaido, the Meteorological Agency said.

In Minabe, Wakayama Prefecture, newspaper deliveryman Hiroshi Kitahara, 54, died after hitting a tree felled by the typhoon while making deliveries on his bike. In Fujimi, Saitama Prefecture, Masaichi Kaji, 69, was killed after being hit by a broken tree branch at a shrine, local police said.

The drowning of a 46-year-old surfer in rough seas off Kanagawa Prefecture was reported Wednesday, but police are still investigating the cause of death and have not directly linked it to the typhoon.

In Kami, Miyagi Prefecture, a 63-year-old worker at a carp farm disappeared when the farming pond was swollen by the typhoon, police said.

A Kyodo News tally showed that 114 injured people had been reported in 22 prefectures as of 8:30 p.m.

In Shizuoka, Aichi and Mie prefectures, several expressways were partially closed.

A total of 18 runs were canceled on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, while runs on the Tohoku, Joetsu, Yamagata, Akita and Nagano bullet train lines were temporarily suspended in some sections.

Typhoon Melor also caused all 434 municipal elementary and junior high schools to close in the city of Osaka, and 396 public elementary and junior high schools to close in Tokyo.

Major damage to crops, especially apples, is also feared.

In Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, heavy winds toppled a 2-meter-high, 6-meter-wide section of stone wall at Hikone Castle.

Melor also spawned several tornadoes. In Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, a tornado damaged roofs and storerooms at 50 to 60 households, local police said. Twisters also were reported in Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures.