Powerful Typhoon Lan made landfall on the Pacific coast of central Japan early Monday, leaving at least two dead as it battered a wide area with heavy rain and strong winds.

The large typhoon hit Omaezaki in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka around 3 a.m., according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. With an atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals at its center and winds of up to 198 kph, it was set to pass near Tokyo before traveling northeastward over the main island of Honshu.

Some Pacific coastal areas from western to eastern Japan were engulfed in a storm zone with gusts of over 90 kph expected, the agency said.

The season's 21st typhoon brought more than 400 millimeters of rainfall in the 48 hours to Sunday evening in Wakayama, Mie and Kagoshima prefectures. The city of Shingu in Wakamaya saw over 800 mm of rainfall.

The Uda River in Mie Prefecture flooded and some houses are believed to have been inundated. In neighboring Shiga Prefecture, a road collapse 10 meters deep stretched for about 17 meters.

Masao Hirashima, 63, died after scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in the city of Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, around 4:50 p.m. and police believe the accident was caused by strong winds. A gust of 87.1 kph was recorded around 5:20 p.m. in the city.

The male passerby saw the scaffolding collapsing but was unable to escape, the police said.

In Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, a 70-year-old man went missing after his boat suffered engine trouble and he dived into the sea attempting to grab a rope from another vessel. His body was later found on a beach about 3.3 km away.

In Osaka Prefecture, four cars were submerged as water on a road rose after a mudslide and at least one man was injured, police said.

In Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, an 85-year-old woman sustained minor injuries after she was knocked over by a gust of wind while walking on a sidewalk.

Strong winds were observed in a wide area of Japan, including the town of Nagi, Okayama Prefecture, where a gust of 164.5 pkh was recorded, while a gust of 143.3 kph was registered in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.

According to Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. over 350 flights had been cancelled, affecting around 43,000 passengers. The two airlines also decided to cancel around 170 flights on Monday.

Train services were disrupted with sections of the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line suspended and parts of expressways were also closed.

The morning rush hours in the Tokyo metropolitan area as well as in central Japan centering on Nagoya are likely to be affected as services on some lines will be suspended from early Monday.

Toyota Motor Corp. decided to suspend operations at factories assembling vehicles in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie and Fukuoka from Monday morning to evening, company officials said.

A number of local municipalities issued evacuation advisories for some residents. Some regional election boards decided to forgo vote counting for the day's House of Representatives election until at least Monday due to transportation disruption caused by the typhoon.

Crown Prince Naruhito decided to delay his trip to Kochi Prefecture to join an agriculture promotion event from Monday morning to the afternoon as the planned flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport was cancelled, the Imperial Household Agency said.

After rapidly passing close to Tokyo early Monday morning, the typhoon is expected to be downgraded to an extratropical cyclone east of Hokkaido, the agency said.