The death toll due to floods triggered by Severe Tropical Storm ''Paeng'' in the province of Maguindanao reached 61, the governor of Maguindanao said on Tuesday.

During the situational briefing with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Maguindanao Governor Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangundadatu said as of 6 am of October 31 the death toll due to ''Paeng'' was at 61 with 40 others injured and 17 victims still missing.

Mangundadatu said the number of affected population also reached more than half a million or a total of 622,505 or 124,501 families.

"In the province of Maguindanao, we have 36 municipalities, in which 30 of them are affected. It means 78 percent of our municipalities are affected, in which out of 508 barangays, 370 affected, and that is 72.83 percent; 172 barangays affected in low areas that is in southern part of Mindanao, Maguindanao; and while in the northern area, affected barangays is 198," she said.

BARMM Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said as of 6 pm of October 31, the population inside the total of 70 evacuation in the region now reduced to 22,115 or 4,370 families as most affected people have returned to their homes as soon as floods subsided.

Sinarimbo said search and rescue operation in Barangay Kusiong, Maguindanao was shifted to retrieval operations on October 30. Robina Asido/DMS