Thousands of people remained stranded in western Japan on Tuesday after the death toll from the fierce typhoon Talas rose to 41.Torrential rain brought by the powerful Talas, which made landfall on Saturday, was the deadliest in seven years. It caused rivers to swell and triggered floods and landslides that swept away buildings, homes and roads. Local authorities said more than 50 people were still missing.In severely affected Wakayama, about 4,500 people remained stranded in communities that could not be reached due to collapsed roads.In Totsukawa village in Nara, more than 400 people were stranded in evacuation shelters as access routes have mostly been cut off and phone lines were down in most parts of the village.Talas, which moved away from Japan on Sunday, has since been downgraded to a tropical storm but the remnants of its weather system continued to inflict heavy rains on northern Japan.