In Japan 11 people died and one was missing after strong winds and high waves claimed two more lives, while fallen trees on power lines left some 138,000 people temporarily without electricity, officials said.

In South Korea, officials said Megi claimed four lives and left two missing while flooding more than 1,500 houses, forcing some 2,400 people to evacuate. Yonhap news agency put the figure at eight dead or missing.

Megi, the 15th typhoon of the season, moved northeast up the Sea of Japan (East Sea) between Japan and Korea this week, lashing both countries with its storm system without making landfall.

However it curved back eastwards towards Japan late Thursday and crossed over the northern tip of the main island Honshu, and was over the Pacific Ocean Friday afternoon.

Japan's Meteorological Agency expected it to be downgraded to a tropical storm later in the day.

No evacuation orders were issued by northern Japanese prefectures as the typhoon quickly crossed into the Pacific, but the nation's Fire and Disaster Management Agency warned windspeeds would still be around 90 kilometersmiles) per hour.

On the southern tip of the northernmost island of Hokkaido, 227 millimeters (nine inches) of rain fell in the 24 hours to 9:00 am (0000 GMT), the Meteorological Agency said. The average August rainfall in the prefectural capital Sapporo is 137.3 millimeters.

The typhoon had earlier prompted authorities in western Japan to recommend the evacuation of some 5,100 people, but by Friday the warning had been lifted for all but about 350 in the worst-flooded areas.

One of the latest victims was a 68-year-old man who died Friday after being knocked off his scooter by an advertising board in Fujishima, Yamagata prefecture, some 350 kilometers north of Tokyo, police said.

"A billboard that had been blown down by strong winds hit the man's scooter, and the rider fell off and died," Yamagata police spokesman Tomio Ota said.

A 24-year-old man drowned after a boat he was in with three friends flipped over in high waves early Friday, said a police spokesman in Komatsu, some 300 kilometers west of Tokyo.

Two of the friends were washed ashore alive on the Japan Sea (East Sea) coast, while police continued to search for their 32-year-old male companion, he said.

The National Police Agency said 15 people were injured by falling rocks, flying objects, broken glass and being blown over by gusting winds, while 2,234 houses were flooded.

Meanwhile, the coast guard was searching for a container of 16,000 liters (4,160 gallons) of toxic methacrylic acid, used in adhesives, which was washed overboard into the Sea of Japan from a cargo ship.

Police had warned coastal residents of the danger from the container, one of 25 which fell off the Panamanian-registered vessel near Sado City in Niigata prefecture, said prefectural official Satoru Shimada.

Japan's two major airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, cancelled a total of 61 flights Thursday and Friday, while East Japan Railway cancelled 69 scheduled train services.

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