People walk through a flooded street in Hue, Vietnam, on Tuesday as Typhoon Ketsana lashed the region. (Vietnam News Agency/Associated Press)

The Philippines is calling for increased international aid as the death toll caused by Typhoon Ketsana continues to mount and the storm moves to Vietnam and Laos.

The storm killed at least 23 people as it lashed Vietnam on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Philippines raised its toll to 246 confirmed dead and 38 missing as floodwaters subsided and victims began to queue in search of relief.

Authorities ordered extra police to be deployed around the Philippines to prevent looting in communities abandoned by fleeing residents.

Queues of bedraggled victims grew long at hundreds of aid distribution centres as floodwaters subsided further and more people went in search of food, clean water, dry clothes and shelter.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration — sensitive to criticism it did not give sufficient warning of the deluge or was too slow to respond — conceded it was overwhelmed but said it was doing all it could to help.

2 more storms brewing

Officials in the Philippines are calling for more international aid as two more storms brew just east of the island nation in the Pacific.

Flood victims in the Philippines scramble for relief supplies being airdropped by an air force helicopter east of Manila on Tuesday. (Philippine Air Force, Rogel Vidallo/Associated Press)"We are trying our level best to provide basic necessities, but the potential for a more serious situation is there," said Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. "We cannot wait for that to happen."

The United States has donated $100,000 US and deployed a military helicopter, boats and 20 soldiers to help with the relief efforts.

The United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Program have also provided food and other aid.

The European Union also said Tuesday that it will help Asian countries hit by Ketsana and aid officials are being sent to Manila to assess the region's needs.

Aid agencies began mobilizing relief supplies to help people in the aftermath of Ketsana on Tuesday.

Teodoro said at least 12,360 people have been rescued abut there are numerous unconfirmed reports about deaths.

Ketsana, which dumped more than a month's worth of rain on the Philippines in less than 24 hours, caused massive flooding.

Water subsiding

In the aftermath of the storm, the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council said the homes of almost 1.9 million people were inundated by flood waters, with nearly 380,000 people brought to schools, churches and other evacuation centres

A father carrying his son wades through mud caused by Typhoon Ketsana west of Manila on Tuesday. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)As the water, which had reached shoulder depth in parts of the capital's streets on Saturday, subsided in many areas on Tuesday, rescuers continued to search for bodies in the swollen rivers.

Ketsana, which made landfall in central Vietnam Tuesday afternoon local time, battered Quang Nam province with winds up to 144 km/h before moving through five other provinces and heading toward Laos.

The Vietnam deaths occurred in six provinces, with many being caused by falling trees and electrical lines, mudslides and drowning, officials said.

About 170,000 people were evacuated from Vietnam's central coast as the storm approached, said disaster official Nguyen Van Vy.

Rains and heavy winds have knocked out electricity in the central provinces and resulted in widespread flight cancellations.

"There's a blackout across our entire province," said Truong Ngoc Nhi, vice-governor of Quang Ngai province, south of Danang. "Many streets are strewn with fallen trees and utility poles. It looks like a battlefield."