At least 36 people are missing after Tropical Storm Trami forces more than half a million people from their homes.

Rescuers in the Philippines dive into a lake and scour isolated villages to locate dozens of missing people as the death toll from Tropical Storm Trami rises to 100.

The death toll in Batangas province, south of Manila, rose to 55 on Sunday, provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao told AFP news agency.

Trami, which hit the Philippines on October 24, was among the deadliest storms to hit the Southeast Asian country this year.

At least another 36 people remain missing from the tropical storm, which forced more than half a million people from their homes, according to the national disaster agency.

Police in the worst-hit Bicol region in the central Philippines also recorded 38 deaths, mostly from drowning.

“We are still receiving many calls and trying to save as many people as possible,” Bicol regional police director Andre Dizon told AFP. “Hopefully there will be no more deaths.”

Dizon added that “many residents” of the region’s Camarines Sur province are still trapped on the roofs and upper floors of their homes.

Two people were reported dead in separate electrocution and drowning incidents in Cavite province, police said.

Five more bodies were also recovered in other provinces, bringing the total to 100, according to police and disaster agency sources.

“A higher death toll is possible in the coming days as rescuers can now reach previously isolated places,” Edgar Posadas of the Civil Defense Office was quoted as saying in the news.

The weather cleared in many areas on Saturday and Sunday, allowing for cleanup and search operations.

Police, coast guard and a marine diving team were searching for a family of seven on Taal Lake in Batangas on Sunday.

Most of the deaths in Batangas were attributed to rain-induced landslides.

More than 20 bodies were pulled from piles of mud, boulders and fallen trees, while police said at least another 20 people in the province were still missing.

About 20 major storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.

In September, at least 11 people were killed when Tropical Storm Yagi hit the country.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia Pacific region are forming closer to the coast, intensifying faster and lasting longer over land due to climate change.