One person was killed, another was missing and at least six were injured as a powerful typhoon heading Monday toward Japan's mainland lashed Tokyo with torrential rains, flooded homes and cut off power to thousands.

A 61-year-old man was found dead late Sunday on a flooded road in Saitama outside Tokyo after he rushed to help his son whose car was stuck, police said.

On Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, a 53-year-old man went missing as his house was crushed by a landslide.

At least six people were injured on Kyushu and on the Okinawan chain further south, the National Police Agency said, as Typhoon Nabi slowly churned northwest along the edge of the East China Sea.

The storm center, packing winds of up to 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour, was located some 150 kilometers (90 miles) off Kyushu's southern tip at 10:00 pm (1300 GMT), the Meteorological Agency said,

The agency said over 100 millimeters (four inches) of rain was dumped on Tokyo overnight, disrupting late night train services as hot air from the typhoon stimulated a seasonal rainfront over the capital.

Nearly 2,000 homes were flooded by the powerful storm and 7,000 households were left without electricity in the Tokyo area, police said.

Public broadcaster NHK said that 345 domestic flights were grounded on Monday across Japan.

The typhoon was moving at 10 kilometers (six miles) per hour and was expected to hit Kyushu early Tuesday, a Meteorological Agency official said.

With news of the typhoon competing on television with scenes of the US Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina, authorities called on Kyushu residents in Nabi's path to consider leaving before the typhoon hits.

In southern Kyushu, 13,000 people voluntarily evacuated their homes for schools while 19,300 lost power Monday, local officials said.

The Tokyo area is accustomed to the downpour from typhoons in the Pacific Ocean but some residents said they had rarely felt such a pounding.
Late-night trains took on the look of rush hour, with throngs of wet Tokyoites trying to get home on trains that were delayed when gushing waters flooded some tracks.

"I have never experienced such a heavy rain in my five years living here," a man in his 40s told NHK.

A man in his 30s said he went onto his rooftop for safety because he could not leave his house.

"Water was almost reaching the second floor. I was really frightened," said a woman in her 50s.

Japan was hit by Typhoon Mawar last month, which brought heavy rains and fierce winds that left at least one person dead and injured four others.

The country was struck by a record 10 typhoons last year. One of them, Tokage, was the deadliest typhoon in a quarter-century, killing 90 people.