The death toll from twin typhoons that pounded the Philippines has reached 59, authorities said.

Typhoon Nesat -- known locally as Pedring -- has claimed 55 lives, and the death toll from Typhoon Nalgae -- known locally as Quiel -- rose to four Monday, as rescuers found the body of a man who drowned in raging floodwaters in the Bulacan province.

Several towns in the Bulacan and Pampanga provinces, in Central Luzon, were under chest-deep water when continuous rains from Typhoon Nesat last week prompted the release of water from four dams around the area. Among the worst hit was the city of Calumpit, Bulacan, where residents were stranded on rooftops for days.

Although floodwaters have begun to subside, hundreds of families remained in evacuation centres as more than 43,000 houses were damaged by Typhoon Nesat alone, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. It estimated damages to infrastructure and agriculture at more than eight billion Philippine pesos (almost $183 million).

Several dikes have also been breached in the Pampanga province during Typhoon Nesat.

Typhoon Nalgae, which made a landfall on Saturday morning, aggravated the damage from Nesat as it cut a swath of destruction along the upper regions of Luzon island, directly hitting the crop-producing provinces of Isabela and Cagayan as well as the Cordilleras.

Landslides from Typhoon Nalgae cut off portions of a major highway, isolating the town of Carranglan in Nueva Ecija.

A passenger van headed toward Bontoc, Mountain Province, encountered a landslide along the Halsema Highway, resulting to the death of one person, the disaster agency said.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
•    55 are dead from Typhoon Nesat, and 4 are killed by Typhoon Nalgae
•    A disaster agency estimates damages at eight billion Philippine pesos (almost $183 million)
•    Some residents in Bulacan province were stranded on rooftops for days


(Source: CNN)