The death toll from flooding in the Philippines caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana climbed to at least 100 on Monday.

Flood water began to subside after a weekend that saw the capital, Manila, hit with its heaviest rainfall in more than 40 years, CNN reported.

More than 80% of the capital was under water at one point Sunday. The deluge swallowed whole houses and buses.

Manila, in the island of Luzon, and the nearby province of Rizal bore the brunt of the storm. People huddled on rooftops Sunday waiting on army helicopters to pluck them to safety. Others used ropes to wade through waist-deep muddy waters.

Power and water supply failed in some areas. Roads were rendered impassable, making rescue efforts challenging.

"Right now the challenge is to find out how many people have actually died and how many people we have to take care of in terms of people who've been displaced", Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippines National Red Cross said.

We're really talking about maybe hundreds of thousands of people", with about 280 000 to 300 000 displaced in the island of Luzon alone, he added.

Tropical Storm Ketsana is the culprit for the deadly flooding in the capital Manila and nearby provinces, where a massive rescue operation is underway.

Philippines President, Gloria Arroyo, pleaded for donations and called for calm.

The Philippines chief weather forecaster blamed climate change for the downpours.

Ketsana, with winds of up to 100km/h, is expected to head out over the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday.

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