At least 39 people have died after a tropical storm battered the Philippines' main island Luzon over the weekend, officials said on Wednesday. As widespread flooding began to ease following three days of continuous rain, tens of thousands of people still remain in evacuation centres, reported the Associated Press.

Typhoon Koppu first struck the Luzon island on Sunday morning with winds as strong as 210 kph, making it the second strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year. More than 300 villages had been submerged across Luzon on Monday and Tuesday. The state weather service said Koppu had melted into a tropical depression off the island's north coast early Wednesday with winds of 55 kph, reported AFP.