Rescuers helped residents cross raging floods as a storm dumped six weeks worth of rain on a region in the Philippines.

Footage shows volunteers and police officers guiding locals as they waded through chest-deep floods in Catarman town, Northern Samar province, on November 21. They used ropes to steady themselves against the strong currents.

Philippine weather agency PAGASA said Northern Samar saw 619 millimetres of rain in a 24-hour period from Monday to Tuesday, 8 am. This topped the previous highest daily rainfall record of 605.5 millimetres recorded in Catarman town last December 2019.

The Northern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said an estimated 370,000 people were affected by the severe flooding.

The provincial government has suspended classes in public and private schools today, November 22.

PAGASA said the extreme weather was being caused by the shear line, an area where cold air meets warm air. The agency said the phenomenon occurs during the country's northeast monsoon season, when cool northeast winds meet warmer air blowing from the Pacific. The temperature gradient allows large storm clouds to form.