Residents sought refuge on rooftops and cars floated through flooded streets on Tuesday as Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the central Philippines, leaving at least two people dead.

Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the powerful storm, which made landfall shortly before midnight.

As of 8am, the typhoon was moving westwards across the islands of Cebu and Negros, with winds of 150 kilometres per hour and gusts of 185 kmh toppling trees and downing power lines.

"People marooned on rooftops are asking to be rescued," Cebu information officer Rhon Ramos said, adding that even some evacuation centres had been flooded.

Don del Rosario, 28, was among those in Cebu City who sought refuge on an upper floor as the storm raged.

"The water rose so fast. From what I've been told, the flooding started around 3am. By 4am, it was already uncontrollable – people couldn't get out [of their houses]," he said.

"I've been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we've experienced."

Hundreds still living in tent cities after a 6.9-magnitude quake rocked the island in late September were also "forcibly evacuated for their own safety", Ramos said.

Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defense, told local radio that 387,000 people had been moved from the typhoon's path, while one man was killed by a falling tree in Bohol province.

Disaster official Danilo Atienza said an elderly person had also died by drowning in southern Leyte province.

"The senior citizen was trapped on an upper floor... and unable to get assistance," he told radio outlet DZMM. (AFP)