Photos: Typhoon Gaemi turns Philippine streets into rivers

Relentless rain drenched the northern Philippines on Wednesday, triggering floods in Manila and landslides in mountainous regions as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.

In the densely populated capital, rescuers were deployed across the city to help evacuate people from low-lying homes after downpours turned streets into rivers, trapping vehicles.

A state of calamity was declared for Manila, unlocking funds for relief efforts, after the state weather forecaster warned of "serious flooding" in some areas.

"Many areas are flooded so we have rescuers deployed all over the city. There is an overwhelming number of people asking for help," Peachy de Leon, a disaster official in suburban Manila, told AFP.

A boy rides on a discarded refrigerator as he and other members of the family evacuate from their flooded home in Tumana village, Marikina City.

People walk along a flooded street in Manila amid heavy rains brought by Typhoon Gaemi.

A passenger bus traverses along a flooded street in Manila.

Residents with their belongings evacuate from their flooded homes in Tumana village, Marikina City.

People walk along a flooded street in Manila.

More than 200 millimetres (nearly eight inches) of rain fell in the capital in the past 24 hours, senior weather specialist Glaiza Escullar told AFP, which was "not unusual".