About 30 fishing boats capsized off the provinces of Batangas and Bataan after being battered by giant waves, the national disaster risk reduction management office said.

Molave slammed into the country's eastern coast on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds that toppled power lines and trees and ripped off roofs.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 190kph as it moved west at 30kph towards Vietnam, the weather bureau said.

Seven people were reported to have drowned in floods in the provinces of Quezon, Negros Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, said Mark Timbal, spokesman for the disaster risk reduction management office.

Three people also died after being hit by a falling tree in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Cagayan and Laguna, he added.

More than 150,000 residents forced to flee their homes in the affected areas have begun to return home as weather improved, local officials said.

But many areas were still without electricity as floods prevented emergency teams from reaching some areas to fix toppled power posts and lines.

Molave was the 17th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year.

The country is battered by an average of 20 cyclones every year.

Australian Associated Press