Three people have died after heavy rains from a storm and the seasonal monsoon caused widespread flooding in the Philippine capital Manila and nearby provinces.

Authorities said more than 470,000 residents of Metro Manila and other provinces were affected in inundated communities. At least 37,000 people in the capital were displaced in one of the city's worst floods in recent years.

More than 2,700 people in nearby provinces have also been displaced by the floods.

A man drowned in Caloocan City, a two-year-old girl drowned in nearby Quezon City and the body of a 68-year-old woman was recovered after she was swept away by floodwaters in Rizal province.

In some areas, water engulfed the first floor of homes, sending residents scrambling to upper floors and onto roofs.

The rain and an unrelated radar malfunction combined to divert, delay or cancel dozens of domestic and international flights at Manila's airport.

The widespread floods caused traffic gridlock across the city.

Officials say that even if the rain stopped on Friday night, waters from the mountain could start coming down to local rivers and cause more flooding.

Water from a dam just north of the capital also started to spill into a river that runs through some densely populated areas, threatening to inundate more villages, according to officials.

Government forecasters said nearly a month's worth of rain fell overnight as people slept, trapping many in their flooded homes.

Officials were already on heightened alert because of the continuing gentle eruption of Mayon, the country's most active volcano in Albay province east of Manila.

More than 26,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk communities around the volcano and there were concerns that rain could cause deadly volcanic mudflows.

Government offices in the capital and 15 provinces have closed and the Philippine Stock Exchange has suspended trading.

Residents of a number of slum communities have been evacuated to safety.