Back-to-back typhoons left at least 55 people dead in the northern Philippines and rescuers scrambling to deliver food and water to hundreds of villagers stuck on rooftops for four days because of flooding.

Typhoon Nalgae has hit the northern Philippines, packing gusts of up to 195 kilometres per hour.

Residents in Manila waded through waist-deep floodwater, dodging branches and flying debris today as a powerful typhoon sent surging waves as tall as palm trees crashing over seawalls and submerging entire areas of the Philippines capital.