While 27 people remain unaccounted for, the Philippine authorities announced that the toll of victims of floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Megi had risen to at least 58 dead.

The majority of the victims (47 according to the authorities) fell in the vicinity of Baibay, central Leti province, where many agricultural villages were overrun.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency, three people died in the territory of Negros Orientale and three others on the southern island of Mindanao.

The disaster caused more than 17 thousand people to flee their flooded homes and cut off electricity.

The "Meiji", known in the Philippines as "Agaton", is the first major tropical storm to hit the country this year.

Searches for missing persons ceased on Tuesday night and resumed at dawn on Wednesday.

According to local authorities, improved weather allowed rescue crews to reach the worst-affected areas where they searched for bodies in the mud using shovels or by hand.

Scientists warn that the planet is affected by global warming, which is leading to intensifying storms and hurricanes.

The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The archipelago sees about 20 storms a year.

In 2013, Haiyan, the most powerful hurricane on Earth, killed or lost more than 7,300 people.