Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines battled neck-deep floodwaters yesterday in a chaotic aftermath to a ferocious typhoon that claimed at least 23 lives.

With some areas on the outskirts of Manila deluged with floods up to 1.5 metres deep, authorities sent out boats to rescue people stranded on the roofs of their houses.

One of the worst affected areas was Bulacan province, an hour’s drive north of the capital, where dykes burst and water was released from dams that reached critical levels during the height of Tyhphoon Nesat’s fury on Tuesday.

“Two of my sons are stranded, they texted me that they spent last night on the roof,” 56-year-old security guard Resty Tolentino said as he waded through murky waters in a bid to reach his home in Calumpit town. He and another son, a 13-year-old boy, struggled with the strong current in the waist-deep water while carrying food and other supplies.

Civil defence officials said that more than 73,000 people in Bulacan and nearby provinces were affected by the floods.

Nesat slammed into the Philippines main island of Luzon before dawn on Tuesday, dumping enormous amounts of rain over the area that is home to 48 million people, before moving into the South China Sea yesterday.

The capital was brought to a near standstill during the height of the typhoon with dramatic storm surges in Manila Bay that crashed over seawalls, flooding a hospital, a five-star hotel and the US embassy.

The death toll rose to 23 yesterday from 16 overnight, with another 35 people missing.