PHOTO: Philippine storm leaves 52 dead

The nine-hour deluge across Manila on Saturday submerged houses, washed away shanties and turned roads into raging rivers.

At least 52 people were killed and more than a quarter of a million displaced after the heaviest rain in more than four decades plunged the Philippine capital into turmoil, officials said Sunday.

The nine-hour deluge across Manila on Saturday submerged houses, washed away shanties and turned roads into raging rivers, forcing terrified residents to seek refuge on top of homes or cars where they waited for more than 24 hours.

"I am calling on our countrymen... to please stay calm," President Gloria Arroyo said, as she set a deadline of nightfall on Sunday for the military and other rescuers to save those who remained stranded.

The frantic rescue efforts saw military helicopters and rubber boats fan out across the sprawling city of 12 million residents to pluck people off houses and car roofs.

The US military contributed a helicopter and six boats to the operations.

The downpour from tropical storm Ketsana left some areas of Manila under up to six metres (20 feet) of water, shocking a country that is already used to being battered by typhoons with its ferocity.

"This is the worst (flooding) that I have seen," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said.

Teodoro, who is co-ordinating the rescue efforts, said 52 people had been confirmed killed with at least 23 others still missing.

Nearly 280,000 people in Manila and five outlying provinces were displaced, with more than 41,000 victims already placed in evacuation centres, according to Teodoro.

And even though the rain eased on Sunday, rescuers said they feared the death toll may rise because receding flood waters could expose more bodies.

By Sunday afternoon, the helicopters and boats had rescued more than 5,000 people, but many others were frantically waiting for help while battling thirst and hunger.

"If you are on the roof, don't try to leave. Just remain there and we will do everything to rescue you," Teodoro said in a radio broadcast.

However many could not wait.

In Pasig city, one of the worst hit areas in eastern Manila, panicked residents were seen wading dangerously through neck-deep waters hoisting their children and belongings above their heads.

Others were left shocked and thankful just to have survived.

"We thought we were going to die," Rachelle Solis, 35, a banking executive who was with her two young children at a day-care centre when the floods hit.

"The current was strong and we were nearly swept away. We held onto a rope... for dear life. I kept thinking this couldn't happen to me, not in Manila."

Philippine Red Cross chairwoman Gwendolyn Pang said rescuers were struggling to reach many areas, with many highways rendered impassable.

"This has never happened before. Almost 80 percent of metropolitan Manila is underwater," Pang told AFP.

Adding to the chaos, telephone and power services were cut off in the worst-hit areas and patchy for other parts of Manila.

Some hospitals in the eastern part of the city had also been evacuated, while the international airport was closed during the worst of the storm on Saturday.

The government's chief weather forecaster Prisco Nilo blamed climate change for the severity of the storm.

He said that total rainfall for the nine-hour deluge was 41.6 centimetres (16 inches), breaking the previous single-day record of 33.4 centimetres in July 1967.

You can see more Manila photos HERE