Twelve people have died and another ten are missing as heavy rains, in the vanguard of Typhoon Etau, trigger flash floods and landslides in Japan, reported PressTV.
According to police and media reports, the Sayocho and Hyogo regions located on Japan's west coast have been devastated by flash floods, where a raging river overflowed its banks.
Moreover, torrential rains drenched the main island of Honshu, leaving at least 22 people dead or missing, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Police said a 68-year-old woman, killed in a landslide in the Okayama prefecture was among the dead.
At least one man was also found dead in his car, after being swept away by the raging river.
About 2,200 people have been evacuated from their homes in Hyogo, where some 500 houses were flooded, police added.
Japan's weather agency predicted on Monday that Typhoon Etau, which means 'storm cloud' in Palauan, would hit northeast Japan including Tokyo on Tuesday, bringing up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain.
The typhoon, packing winds of up to 108 kilometers (67 miles) per hour, is now headed towards Honshu at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, the agency added.
Japan is hit by several dozen typhoons, in the summer and early autumn every year, frequently disrupting air and rail transport in the east Asian country.
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