Typhoon Bopha ploughed across Mindanao Island on Tuesday, flattening whole towns in its path as hurricane-force winds brought torrential rain that triggered a deadly combination of floods and landslides.

Rescuers said they are looking for 380 missing persons while seeking help for more than 250,000 others who have taken shelter in schools, gyms and other buildings after losing everything.

Of the dead, 258 were found on the east coast of Mindanao while 191 were recovered in and around New Bataan and Monkayo, said the head of an army division involved in the search.

President Benigno Aquino has sent food and other supplies by ship to 150,000 people on Mindanao's east coast where three towns remain cut off by landslides and wrecked bridges.