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The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) admits the chances of finding survivors in areas ravaged by Tropical Storm "Vinta" are "slim".

“We are coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as the head of the search and rescue cluster. They said slim chances (in finding the missing), especially in landslides but all of us believe in miracles at this time of this season. We hope that the missing are just in other provinces,” said NDRRMC spokesperson Romina Marasigan at a briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, Marasigan said the number of fatalities based on the record of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) remains at 164 while 176 are missing.

She noted these figures are subject for verification except for six missing persons who were identified by their relatives.

The NDRRMC has recorded at least three areas placed under state of calamity.

“We only recorded three areas. These are those who already submitted their council resolution… so far the Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur; Bacolod, Lanao del Norte; and the whole province of Lanao del Norte they all declare under state of calamity,” said Marasigan.

Marasigan explained there are other areas reportedly declared under state of calamity but these were not included in the official report of the NDRRMC because the council resolution was not yet submitted.

“We heard news about the declaration in other areas. We are still waiting for their council resolution before we can include their declaration to our reports,” she said.

The number of affected families in Regions VII, IX, X, XI, XII, ARMM, MIMAROPA and CARAGA has reached 118,596 or 555,409 persons, of which 19,485 families or 90,987 individuals are being served inside 246 evacuation centers.

The report also shows 2,333 houses were damaged because of the storm. Of the total, there 1,507 which were destroyed while 826 were partially damaged.

A total of 52,086,275 pesos worth of damage to agriculture and 167,710,000 pesos in infrastructure were recorded in Regions IX, X and Caraga, the NDRRMC said. Robina Asido/DMS