MANILA, Philippines – The death toll from Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) continued to rise steadily, as the body count stood at 112 on Tuesday evening, November 1, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The disaster agency reported 101 fatalities due to Paeng on Monday night, October 31.

The NDRRMC’s system of reporting includes deaths that have yet to be validated. In this case, 82 fatalities were confirmed, while 30 were subject for validation.

The number of missing persons was at 34, while 103 others sustained injuries.

The deaths were mainly due to the floods and landslides triggered by Paeng’s onslaught, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Western Visayas.

The storm gripped 2.4 million Filipinos, including over 189,000 who remained in evacuation centers across all 17 regions on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos has thumbed down NDRRMC’s recommendation to place the entire country under a state of national calamity, explaining that the extent of the damage was “highly localized.”

The cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure was pegged at nearly P1.3 billion and P760 million, respectively, but those numbers are still expected to rise once the government sees the full picture of the storm’s impact.

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– Rappler.com