In Japan, heavy rains and flooding prompted calls for more than 100,000 people to evacuate in areas north of Tokyo yesterday. The number killed from the storm rose to four after two bodies were found buried in mud near a landslide.

The two other fatalities were a 13-year-old boy who was swept into a swollen river while looking for a soccer ball, and another boy who fell into a lake. Two people were still missing.

A third major storm, Nakri, weakened after roaring past Taiwan this week, but Japanese Meteorological Agency officials said strong gusts of wind from the former typhoon were still buffeting Japan's southern island chain of Okinawa.

Some flood warnings and evacuation advisories were lifted in Japan by afternoon as the force of the winds packed by Chata'an slowed to levels considered a tropical storm by international standards.

By mid-afternoon Chata'an was moving north along the coast near Aomori, 576 km (358 miles) north of Tokyo, at the reduced force of 90 km (56 miles) an hour.

Swathes of rice fields in parts of northern Japan were flooded after some areas were hit with more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain in 24 hours.

Officials in Kesennuma, a low-lying coastal city, recommended that some 60,000 people evacuate as a precautionary measure.

PHILIPPINE DEATH TOLL CLIMBS

The number of deaths in the Philippines due to flooding, landslides and rain triggered by Chata'an rose to 37 yesterday, disaster officials said. Four were still missing and 41 injured.

Some 10,405 people who fled their flooded homes in Manila and nearby provinces remain in temporary shelters in public buildings, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.

Chata'an passed over the U.S. territory of Guam last Friday, uprooting trees and utility poles, after triggering landslides in Micronesia's Chuuk coral lagoon that killed at least 39 people.

It then moved on to the Philippines before slamming into Japan's southeastern coast this week.

Rail, air and road traffic returned to normal in Tokyo and surrounding areas after the storm swept past in the early hours of the morning, bringing high winds and heavy rains as it briefly touched land on the Boso Peninsula east of the city before heading back to sea.

By midday, sunny skies had returned to much of Japan as flood waters receded and clean-up operations began.

Two men in the city of Sendai were swept away by a flooded river but clung to trees until they could be rescued by helicopter, a city official said.

An additional 100 mm to 150 mm (4-6 inches) of rain was predicted for northern Japan during the day before Chata'an - which means "rainy day" in the Chamorro language of Guam - headed for the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, where 200 mm (7.8 inches) of rain was expected.

Chata'an dumped heavy rains in western Japan this week, flooding hundreds of homes, causing landslides and forcing the cancellations of many high-speed "bullet" trains and scores of domestic flights.

Residents in several areas of Gifu prefecture, some parts of which were hit with more than 400 mm (16 inches) of rain this week, began returning to their homes to clean up, sweeping away debris and shovelling mud. (Additional reporting by Teruaki Ueno).