BUSAN (South Korea) • At least 10 people have been killed and several others are missing after Typhoon Mitag lashed South Korea with heavy rain and strong winds, the authorities said yesterday.

The fierce storm hit southern parts of the country on Wednesday night, prompting flood warnings and triggering landslides in affected areas.

A total of 10 people had been found dead across the country as of yesterday, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said, but the toll was expected to rise, with several people missing.

A woman in her 60s was found dead after her home was buried in a landslide in the southern port city of Busan and about 600 rescue workers were trying to locate three others believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Mr Park Young-hak was inside his tool shed - later buried in the landslide - and said he escaped after hearing a loud "roar".

"When I ran out to see what it was, the house next to me had already disappeared," Mr Park said.

More than 1,000 homes were damaged and over 1,500 people evacuated their houses in advance, the ministry said.

Mitag is the 18th typhoon this year and the seventh to hit the Korean peninsula.

Mitag was downgraded to an extratropical cyclone after lashing western Japan with torrential rain, the Japanese weather agency said yesterday.

However, the powerful storm is still packing strong winds as it travels across the Sea of Japan.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), regions in central and northern Japan, including the Hokuriku and Tohoku areas, are likely to be hit by the cyclone, with the agency warning of possible flooding and landslides over a 24-hour period.

The affected regions could experience winds of up to 126kmh today, which could cause wave surges of up to 6m, the JMA said.

Warmer air converging with moist conditions will likely result in torrential rain in areas on the Pacific coast in eastern Japan, the weather agency said.

Up to 150mm of rain is expected in the Kinki and Tokai regions in western and central Japan, the agency said, in the 24-hour period up to 6pm today.

On the western island of Shikoku, 120mm of rain per hour was logged yesterday morning in some areas, according to the JMA.

In the city of Kochi on the island, 20 cars were left submerged in a parking lot after a river burst its banks, local officials said, although no casualties have been reported.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA