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The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 58 on Wednesday, official tallies showed, as rescuers dug up more bodies with their bare hands in villages crushed by rain-induced avalanches.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi -- the strongest to hit the disaster-prone archipelago this year -- were in the central province of Leyte where a series of landslides devastated communities, AFP reported.

At least 47 people died and 27 were missing after waves of sodden soil smashed into farming settlements around Baybay City over the weekend, local authorities said. Just over 100 people were injured.

Three people were also killed in the central province of Negros Oriental and three on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the national disaster agency.

Search operations for survivors in Pilar village -- part of Abuyog municipality in Leyte -- resumed at first light Wednesday, with boats carrying rescuers to the coastal community of around 400 people a day after a landslide pushed most houses into the sea.

The Philippines -- ranked among the most vulnerable nations to its impacts -- is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.