A powerful typhoon killed at least 10 people in western Japan and an airport company started to transfer 3,000 stranded passengers by boats, the government said on Wednesday (Sep 5), as more than a million homes were without power.

Jebi, or "swallow" in Korean, was briefly a super typhoon and is the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years. It follows heavy rains, landslides, floods and record-breaking heat that killed hundreds of people this summer.

At least 10 people were killed, and hundreds more injured by Typhoon Jebi as it raked through the major manufacturing area around Osaka - Japan's second city - wrecking infrastructure and destroying homes.

Winds up to 216 kilometres (135 miles) per hour ripped off roofs, overturned trucks and swept a 2,500-ton tanker into a bridge leading to Kansai International Airport, the region's main international gateway and a national transport hub.

The damage to the bridge left the artificial island temporarily cut off, stranding 3,000 travellers and additional staff overnight.

Runways were flooded as high waves washed into the facility on Tuesday, knocking out electricity and inundating buildings.

Television footage showing people lining up to buy food and drinks at a convenience store in the airport.

Airport officials began transferring the stranded passengers to nearby Kobe airport by high-speed boats and buses on Wednesday morning, the government said.

"We don't know how many hours we need to bring everyone out but we're doing our best to finish it by the end of today," Kansai airport spokeswoman Yurino Sanada told AFP.

"We had a blackout so there was no air conditioning. It was hot," a woman told public broadcaster NHK after being ferried to Kobe.

Temperatures have hovered around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

"I'd never expected this amount of damage from a typhoon," she said. "I couldn't sleep, but I'm relieved because I thought I might not be able to get out," another woman told the station.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said about 300 people were injured. It was uncertain when the airport would reopen and some roads and train lines in the affected areas were still closed, he said. About 1.2 million homes were without power.

"The government will continue to do everything possible to tackle these issues with utmost urgency," Suga told a news conference.

It could take several days to a week to reopen Kansai airport depending on the damage, the Yomiuri newspaper quoted an unidentified person in the airline industry as saying.

TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION

More than 1.2 million people had been advised to leave their homes as Jebi approached the Kansai area - Japan's industrial heartland - although it was unclear how many had heeded the warnings. Around 16,000 people spent the night in shelters, local media said.

Japan is regularly hit by powerful typhoons in the summer and autumn, many of which cause flooding and landslides in rural areas.

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