Philippine Super-storm: Manila Submerged as Tropical Storm Trami Combines With Monsoon [PHOTOS]

Entire areas of Manila have been submerged by floodwater after heavy rains battered the northern Philippines overnight, causing damage and casualties.

At least two people died and several are missing on the inundated streets, local officials said.

Seasonal monsoon rains were exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami, which hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with up to 30mm (just over an inch) of rain per hour.

Floods brought Manila to a standstill as schools, offices, the stock exchange, courts and embassies were closed.

The weather bureau placed metropolitan Manila, an area home to some 12 million people, under red alert.

Photos showed residents carrying their belongings on their heads as they crossed streets which had been turned into rivers.

TV footage showed residents trapped on rooftops as raging floodwaters swept through the town of Binan on Lake Laguna, near the capital.

Army troops and police rescued 29 tourists, including 13 Japanese, who were stranded for hours inside a cave in the northern mountain town of Sagada. Rains had caused a stream at the entrance to swell, blocking the group inside. One Filipino tourist remained missing, Civil Defence official Andrew Alex Uy said.

The storm is expected to strengthen into a typhoon with winds of up to 120kph (75mph) per hour as it moves north away from the Philippines, forecasters said.