A villager clung onto a coconut tree overnight to keep from being swept away by floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami.

Footage shows the exhausted man hugging the trunk of the tree as flood waters surged through a field in Nabua town, Camarines Sur province in the Philippines on October 22 afternoon.

He had been holding on for around 12 hours before was finally rescued by his relatives who rode a boat to the area at around 2:25 pm local time. The man was returned safely to his home.

Trami, known locally as Kristine, intensified into a tropical storm as it churned over the Philippine Sea on October 22.

Philippine weather agency PAGASA said in its 5pm bulletin today that the storm was moving northwestward at 12 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 59 miles per hour and gustiness of up to 71 miles per hour.

Authorities said at least seven people have died and thousands have fled to evacuation shelters as storm warnings were raised across the northern and central parts of the country.

It was expected to make landfall in the Philippines on Wednesday or Thursday.