Typhoon swerves into Japan after leaving 2 dead in northern Philippines

TOKYO – A powerful typhoon swerved into southern Japan on Tuesday, battering its southernmost tiny islands with rain and wind after hammering the northeastern tip of the Philippines.

At midday Tuesday, Typhoon Noul was over Yakushima, off the coast of the southern main island of Kyushu, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) southwest of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It was headed toward the main island of Honshu, and expected to hit the area either later in the day or early Wednesday. The agency issued warnings for heavy rainfall and powerful waves along the coastlines.

In the Philippines, where the typhoon struck over the weekend, two men died of electrocution in Cagayan's Appari town, and nearly 3,500 were briefly evacuated to safer ground in Cagayan and Isabela provinces, said Norma Talosig, the regional civil defense director.