MANILA — At least 28 people have died due heavy rains that spawned floods across the Philippines this month, authorities said on Monday, as forecasters warned of continued heavy rains in the country.

Heavy downpours and flooding have plagued the nation's southern and central islands since the Christmas weekend, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Since Jan. 2, back-to-back low pressure areas, the amihan, and shear line have killed 28 people across the country, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.

"Ang cause of death po ng karamihan po dito is drowning po ang karamihan po, at may pang ilan po na natabunan po ng landlside," OCD information officer Diego Agustin Mariano told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(In most cases, the cause of death is drowning, while others were buried in landslides.)

Eleven people were reported injured and 3 were missing, the OCD added.

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The bad weather has displaced some 55,000 families in 13 regions, the agency said.

It pegged the damage to infrastructure at around P171.5 million, with some 1,307 houses damaged, while 28 roads and 12 bridges were not passable.

Damage to agriculture, meanwhile, was estimated at around P274.1 million.

One province and 10 cities and municipalities were also placed under a state of calamity.

Government has distributed around P74.2 million in assistance to affected residents, the OCD said.

The state weather forecaster PAGASA warned of light to moderate rains in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon on Monday due to a low pressure area.

• Low pressure to area to dump rains over Metro Manila, parts of Luzon

The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, and scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer.

For more updates, visit the ABS-CBN Weather Center.

— With reports from Benise Balaoing, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse