TOKYO (CNN) -- Typhoon Stella, the fifth typhoon of the Pacific monsoon season, roared across central and northern Japan on Wednesday with 108 km/h (65 mph) winds, huge waves, floods and landslides that stalled hundreds of trains and killed at least four people.
Massive waves, some as high as 7 meters (23 feet), slammed into coastal areas in Shizuoka prefecture, where the storm came ashore before dawn.
Stella dumped up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) of rain over 24 hours on some areas still recovering from severe flooding caused by Typhoon Rex last month.
More than 3,000 homes were flooded in 17 prefectures, or states, and there were reports of 180 landslides, the national police agency said.
Although the storm's winds were not strong enough to meet the U.S. National Weather Service's criteria for a typhoon, Stella was classified as such by Japan's Central Meteorological Agency.
The U.S. agency classifies tropical storms as hurricanes or typhoons when wind speed hits 118 km/h (74 mph).