Typhoon lashes Japan, grounding planes and killing three

A MASSIVE typhoon lashed western Japan with heavy rains and powerful winds, grounding planes, stalling ferries, and forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes after leaving three people dead over the weekend.

The three people drowned in stormy seas as the typhoon approached Japan's main islands, while two others were still missing today. Japan's Meteorological Agency classified Dianmu "Mother of Lightning" in Mandarin Chinese as "large and very powerful" and warned it could dump up to 16 inches of rain on Osaka and the surrounding area over the next day.

The unseasonably strong storm was packing sustained winds of more than 78mph and has recorded gusts of 124mph.