Typhoon Melor on Thursday became the first tropical cyclone to hit Japan in two years, killing two people and injuring 56 others.

A van passes by strong waves striking barriers in Shizuoka City, west of Tokyo October 8, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

After making landfall near Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture shortly after 5 a.m., the season's 18th typhoon, some 50 km southwest of Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture, was moving northeast at a speed of 50 km per hour, with a maximum wind velocity of 30 meters per second at its center at 12 a.m. (0300 GMT), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

A 54-year-old died after hitting a tree felled by the typhoon on his bike while delivering newspapers in Minabe, Wakayama Prefecture, and another 69-year-old was killed when a broken branch hit him at a shrine in Fujimi, Saitama Prefecture, media reported, citing local police.

According to Kyodo News, up to 56 people in 15 prefectures were injured till noon.

A hotel sign and fence are destroyed by Typhoon Melor in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo October 8, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

More than 440 domestic and international flights were canceled, and up to 18 Tokaido Shinkansen bullet-train services and more than 20 services for Tohoku, Joetsu, Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen were suspended, according to the operators.

In Osaka city, all 434 municipally run elementary and junior high schools were closed, and 396 public elementary and junior high schools were also closed in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, parts of expressways were closed in Shizuoka, Aichi and Mie prefectures.

A man points to a wall torn down by high winds from the third floor of a house in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture north of Tokyo October 8, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, major railway routes, including Yamanote, Chuo, Keihin-Tohoku and Saikyo lines, were temporarily suspended.

The agency has issued warning against strong wind, heavy rain and tidal waves.

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