Typhoon Namtheun heads towards southern Japan as Typhoon Lionrock kills 17

The death toll from Typhoon Lionrock, which struck Japan on 29 August, has risen to 17 with several people still missing and a new tropical storm set to batter the southern islands. Officials announced on Sunday (4 September) that two more deaths have been confirmed on the main island of Hokkaido.

Now a new storm, Typhoon Namtheun, which has already struck the Ryuku Islands, is generating winds of 165km/h, the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane.

It is expected to slow as it moves over cooler waters, landing in the Kagoshima prefecture, in the far south at around 2pm London time, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The new storm is set to bring heavy rain, high seas, landslides and floods to Japan's southernmost Island, Kyushu.

It marks the latest typhoon in a patch of bad weather that began two weeks ago with Typhoon Mindulle.

In northern Japan, communities are still picking up the pieces after Lionrock landed on the northern Pacific coast dumping torrential rain and floods that wrecked rivers with wind speeds of up to 126km/h.

The hardest-hit prefecture was that of Iwate where at least nine people were found dead inside a nursing home for the elderly.

The incident happened as the house was flooded by heavy rains in Iwaizumi. Officials now trying to identify the bodies of the deceased. Iwaizumi is the same town which was devastated by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake which damaged the Fukushima nuclear reactor and killed an estimated 18,000 people.

Iwaizumi is the same town which was devastated by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which damaged the Fukushima nuclear reactor and killed an estimated 18,000 people.

More than 100 flights were grounded on Tuesday evening on 30 August by the Lionrock storm with more than 170,000 people evacuated, including 38,000 in Ofunato, say the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Approximately 10,000 homes in the northern region of the country were without electricity, with power lines damaged

Approximately 10,000 homes in the northern region of the country were without electricity, after winds damaged power lines, AP reported.

Before Lionrock, in 2013, another powerful typhoon triggered massive landslides on Oshima island killing 40 people. Lionrock was the 10th typhoon to hit Japan during this season.