South Korea cleaned up Thursday after Typhoon Chaba lashed its southern coast with powerful winds and heavy rains that triggered flash floods and left six people dead and four missing.

The violent storm passed over the southern tip of the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, pummelling the port of Busan -- the country's second-largest city -- and the industrial city of Ulsan.

In Ulsan, a man drowned near his apartment and a woman was found dead at a flooded underground parking lot.

More than 230,000 homes across the coastal area suffered power outages, but the Korea Electric Power Corp. said supplies had been restored by Thursday morning.

In Ulsan, home to Hyundai Motor's main production facilities, two car plants had to be closed down when the typhoon hit, and one remained offline Thursday due to flood damage.

"We are trying our best to resume operations as soon as possible, but we need more time to ensure safety in the assembly lines," a company spokeswoman said.

Photos released by the Hyundai labour union showed flooded assembly lines where workers produce popular sedans and sports utility vehicles.

Video from public surveillance cameras showed cars, refrigerators and other debris floating down flooded streets and people struggling through muddy, chest-deep water.

Other footage posted on social media showed waves shattering the glass windows of seafront stores and a wooden house having its roof sheared off after slipping into a swollen river and being carried under a low bridge.

The storm also disrupted preparations for Asia's largest movie showcase, the Busan International Film Festival, which was scheduled to open Thursday evening.

Festival events planned on Busan's main Haeundae beach had to be cancelled or moved indoors after the strong winds blew away or damaged the temporary venues erected on the sand.

The typhoon had triggered severe storm warnings in Japan, but was downgraded to an tropical cyclone over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) before it hit Honshu island on Wednesday evening.

Powerful typhoon Chaba barrels toward Japan
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 5, 2016 - Storm and heavy rain warnings were issued Wednesday as powerful typhoon Chaba barrelled toward Japan, after lashing the southern coast of South Korea with winds that triggered flash floods and left at least two dead.

The violent storm was moving north-northeast off the Tsushima islets chain near Japan's southern Kyushu, packing gusts of up to 180 kilometres (110 miles) per hour, Japan's weather agency said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings for gusts, heavy rains, high ocean waves and floods, covering large swathes of western Japan.

The storm is set to hit Japan's main island of Honshu Wednesday evening before moving out into the Pacific on Thursday, the agency reported.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have cancelled a combined 108 domestic flights, while Kyodo news agency said some smaller airlines have also put flights on hold.

The typhoon hit the southern tip of South Korea early Wednesday, bringing heavy rains that swelled rivers to bursting point, flooded city streets and forced mass flight cancellations.

The Korean Public Safety Ministry said 2,500 schools had been closed, while tens of thousands of homes along the southern coast suffered power outages.

In the major port city of Busan, a labourer was killed when strong winds toppled a heavy crane, while a man drowned when caught in flood waters in the southern city of Ulsan.

Three other people were reported missing in separate flood-related incidents.

Dozens of flights in and out of the resort island of Jeju -- a popular destination for Chinese tourists -- were cancelled as Chaba barrelled over the island packing gusts of up to 200 kilometres an hour.

Dramatic footage aired by the YTN news channel showed six crew members from a docked ferry being swept off a pier and into the sea by a giant wave in the southern port of Yeosu. All six were later rescued.

CCTV and mobile video footage shot in Ulsan showed cars being swept down flooded streets and a wooden house having its roof sheared off after slipping into a swollen river and being carried under a low bridge.

Hyundai Motors said two plants at its main production compound in Ulsan had been forced to suspend operations due to flooding.

The carmaker operates five plants in the city that produce a daily average of 5,400 vehicles a day.

The storm sideswiped Japan's southernmost Okinawa earlier this week, causing minor damage and forcing hundreds of flight cancellations.

Big storms regularly strike Japan, with 22 people killed when Typhoon Lionrock pounded the country in September, while another person was killed when Typhoon Malakas hit last month