Typhoon Talas kills 26 in Japan

The death toll from Typhoon Talas which became the worst typhoon to have hit Japan in seven years, has climbed to 26. The typhoon became another test for Japan as the country continues to recover from the earthquake and tsunami.

Talas reduced its power to a tropical storm later, but it ravaged coastal areas of the country with record-hitting rains and incredibly strong winds during the weekends. Twenty-six were killed and 52 went missing in the storm. Thousands of people eere stranded because of the washed out bridges, railways and roads, The Associated Press reports.

Evacuation orders and advisories were issued to 460,000 people in the region, which is hundreds of miles from the country's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast.

The typhoon was believed to be the worst to hit Japan since 2004, when 98 people were killed or reported missing. It caused most of its damage on the Kii Peninsula, in central Japan southwest of Tokyo and hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the country's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast.