MANILA (UPDATE) - Authorities said two people died while six others were rescued in Southern Leyte after their fishing boat capsized on Sunday, Christmas Day, as parts of the Visayas and Mindanao experienced heavy rains and strong waves.

The northeast monsoon or amihan affected several coastal areas in the Visayas and Mindanao on Christmas weekend, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

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Local police said the incident in Barangay Manglit, Pintuyan, Southern Leyte happened past 3 a.m. of Sunday.

Eight fishermen, who are residents of San Antonio Village in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, were aboard their fishing boat when they experienced bad weather.

Amid the big waves, they opted to anchor their boat around 100 meters away from the shoreline before returning to Mindanao. But their boat later capsized, causing two fishermen to drown.

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Their six companions were safely rescued and were brought to the Pintuyan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

Meanwhile, parts of Nasipit town in Agusan del Norte and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental were flooded due to heavy rains and rough coastal conditions.

Gladys Mae Yeke, a resident of Barangay 18-A in Gingoog City, said they experienced knee-high floods on Saturday.

"For 35 years, first time to experience Christmas na buong bahay ay binaha. Still a Merry Christmas for the whole family," she said.

The Gutierrez family from Barangay 1 in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte also experienced flooding.

Strong waves brought water from the sea to coastal villages.

"Two feet ang baha kagabi. Hindi okay ang noche buena namin dahil inaasikaso namin ang baha at malakas na alon," Rusty Mark Gutierrez shared.

The flooding has subsided but Gutierrez said strong winds and waves still persist.

In a Facebook post, former senator Richard Gordon shared a video of Philippine Red Cross' rescue team helping stranded residents in Gingoog City.

Gordon said 176 individuals, including children, were rescued from raging floods.

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PRC staff respond to flooding incident in Gingoog (Video courtesy of the Philippine Red Cross)

“We immediately deployed our 5-man WASAR (Water Search and Rescue) team and other PRC assets and personnel," PRC Chairman Richard Gordon said.

"PRC will deploy its hot meals on wheels to the evacuation centers to provide hot, ready to eat food to the rescued families. Nakakalungkot na nangyari ito sa araw mismo ng pasko," he added.

Gordon commended "the brave volunteers of Red Cross on the ground" for "putting their lives at risk to save the affected families."

"In spite of challenges, the Red Cross will do what must be done,” he said.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the shearline has brought rainfall and strong winds since Dec. 20.

As of Dec. 24, up to 8,612 families or 32,422 individuals from 36 barangays in Eastern Samar were affected.

Five people from Palapag in Northern Samar and one from Dulag, Leyte were also reported missing.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development said Sunday it has started its relief operations in Visayas and Mindanao provinces affected by flooding due to a shear line.

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PAGASA warned that northeast monsoon or amihan will bring moderate to strong wind speeds moving northeast, and moderate to rough coastal water conditions in Luzon, Visayas, and the eastern section of Mindanao.

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- reports from Sharon Evite and Hernel Tocmo; and Jeffrey Hernaez, ABS-CBN News