Bodies continue to pile up even as Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” already left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) as the running death toll now reached 121 while more than 700,000 individuals were still staying in and outside evacuation centers.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Wednesday, Nov. 2, that 92 deaths have already been validated while 29 fatalities are yet to be confirmed.

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where coastal communities in Maguindanao province were hit by devastating landslides, still has the highest number of fatalities at 61.

It was followed by Western Visayas (Region 6) with 29 deaths; Calabarzon (Region 4A) with 12; Eastern Visayas (Region 8) with five; Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) with four; SOCCSKSARGEN (Region 12) with three; MIMAROPA (Region 4B) and Central Visayas (Region 7) with two each; and Central Luzon (Region 3), Bicol Region (Region 5), and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with one death apiece.

Search, rescue, and retrieval operations were ongoing as there were 36 persons who remained missing in BARMM, Regions 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 6, 8, 12, and CAR. There were also 103 persons who were injured due to Paeng.

3 million individuals affected

The NDRRMC said it continues to provide assistance to 927,822 families composed of 3,180,132 individuals who were affected by the storm in all 17 regions of the country.

Of those affected, a total of 327,523 families or 742,639 individuals were being served by the government in and outside evacuation centers.

The NDRRMC said P71.59 million worth of assistance were provided to the affected individuals which include food packs, sleeping kits and tarpaulins, modular tents, and cash aid.

Agri, infra damage at P2.1 billion

Paeng’s damage to agriculture and infrastructure in affected areas rose to P2,175,797,454.31 but this is expected to further increase since reports from other regions have yet to be received by the NDRRMC.

In agriculture, Bicol Region was the hardest hit as it incurred more than P701 million loss in rice, corn, high-value crops, and fisheries. It was followed by Western Visayas at P293 million; Central Luzon at P264 million; MIMAROPA at P11.96 million; CAR at P4.93 million; Zamboanga Peninsula at P2.36 million; Bicol Region at P1.48 million; and Davao Region at P461,000.

In infrastructure, Paeng left a total of P896,857,401.73 damage in roads, bridges, flood-control projects, seawalls, and other government facilities and utility services facilities. Bicol Region recorded the highest loss at over P375 million followed by Central Visayas at P277 million; Davao Region at P110 million; Cagayan Valley at P71.23 million; Ilocos Region at P60.9 million; CAR at P1.82 million; Central Visayas at P662,000; and MIMAROPA at P20,000.

There were also 11,294 houses that were damaged, including more than 2,100 that were totally destroyed by the storm.