MANILA, Philippines?Louie Santa Maria has barely slept since deadly floods swept through Manila on Saturday. But the mechanic has no complaints with business booming as car owners seek help for their water-logged vehicles.

"I don't see us clearing the backlog before Christmas," said Santa Maria, manager of a Honda auto repair shop in the eastern part of the Philippine capital where floodwater reached as high as 20 feet.

"People are still calling up to get their vehicles scheduled for repairs, but we are just putting them on the wait list now. This has been overwhelming."

Outside, 37 sedans and sport utility vehicles, all drenched in a uniform coating of tan mud, were awaiting their turn to be repaired.

On the street, private towing trucks were unloading two more Hondas as their owners argued with traffic police, who wanted to cite them for traffic obstruction.

Accountant Mary Jo Meneses visited another auto repair shop in Metro Manila's Pasig city -- some areas of which remained flooded five days after the disaster -- to canvass repair costs for her family's van, jeep and sedan.

Shop manager Alexander Gonzales told Meneses an engine and cabin cleanup for each vehicle would cost at least P10,000 ($210), on top of P1,500 each for towing.

But if water had clogged the engine and an onboard computer which controls many functions of modern vehicles, it would cause a lot more grief -- and money.

"There is a 50-50 chance that we will be able to start the engine as long as the electronic control unit was not damaged. We advise car owners to disconnect the battery cables," Gonzales said.

His open-air shop was crammed with mud-coated vehicles. Soiled carpets, seats, and steamed up headlamps were being left to dry under the sun.

Gonzales said he was overwhelmed by the number of drivers in need of help.

"Those that do not live nearby we just turn away," Gonzales said.

One major headache facing distressed vehicle owners has been the shock of learning that their insurance policies do not cover "acts of God", such as natural disasters.

"The provision for 'acts of God' is not automatic unless you ask for it," mechanic Santa Maria said.

For Meneses, the quest to get her cash-strapped family's cars repaired would be put on hold until they could secure a loan.

However, Santa Maria was making no apologies for cashing in on other people's misfortune.

"This is not plain and simple business. This is business that touches on the misery of the people. But we are giving them the best that we can do," Santa Maria said.

Other industries are also profiting from the floods, which claimed at least 277 lives and affected more than 2.5 million people in Manila and neighboring areas.

Home appliance shops, for example, have reported a rise in sales as people replace fridges, televisions, fans and other household items destroyed in the floods.