MANILA: At least 73 people were killed and more than 330,000 others displaced after the heaviest rain in more than four decades plunged the Philippine capital into chaos, officials said Sunday.

The nine-hour deluge across Manila on Saturday submerged houses, washed away shanties and turned roads into raging rivers, forcing terrified residents to seek refuge on top of homes or cars where they waited for more than 24 hours.

“I am calling on our countrymen... to please stay calm,” President Gloria Arroyo said, as she set a deadline of nightfall on Sunday for the military and other rescuers to save those who remained stranded.

The downpour from tropical storm Ketsana left some areas of Manila under six meters of water, and the storm’s ferocity shocked a country that is accustomed to typhoons.

“This is the worst that I have seen,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said of the extensive flooding that also severely damaged other parts of the northern Philippines.

Arroyo said more rain had fallen on Manila and surrounding areas than on New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the American city in 2005.

Ketsana’s confirmed death toll was 73, with 23 others still missing, Teodoro said on Sunday evening.

He added that more than 337,000 people in Manila and five outlying provinces were displaced, with nearly 60,000 people staying in evacuation centers.

And even though the rain eased on Sunday, rescuers said they feared the death toll would rise because receding floodwaters could expose more bodies.

The frantic rescue efforts saw military helicopters and rubber boats fan out across the city of 12 million to pluck people off houses and car roofs.

The US military contributed a helicopter and six boats to the rescue operation.

And a “state of calamity” was declared, allowing local governments to tap emergency funds. By Sunday night, more than 5,500 people had been saved, but many others were frantically waiting for help while battling thirst and hunger, meaning Arroyo’s deadline to rescue everyone during daylight had not been met.

As dusk approached, factory worker Joel Taglunob, 28, said his aunt and her baby were still trapped on the second floor of their family home in eastern Manila’s Pasig city, one of the worst-hit areas.

“They have run out of food. She has a small child and they need food,” Taglunob told AFP from a nearby street. He was planning to use a makeshift plastic flotation device to reach the house and deliver supplies.

Earlier in the day, panicked residents were seen in Pasig wading dangerously through neck-deep waters hoisting their children and belongings above their heads. Philippine Red Cross chairwoman Gwendolyn Pang said rescuers were struggling to reach many areas, with highways rendered impassable.