With at least 40 persons dead and 45 missing due to Tropical Storm Urduja, damage to agriculture and property has reached more than half a billion pesos in Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Davao Region.

The National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday it has recorded a total of P 546,978,043 worth of damage in the three regions.

Damage to infrastructure in Eastern Samar, Samar, Leyte and Compostela Valley reached a total of P 543,220,000, it added.

Around P 3,758,043 worth of damage to crops were recorded in Masbate, Sorsogon and Camarines Sur.

The NDRRMC report said Ormoc City was placed under a state of calamity. A total of 149 damaged houses were reported in Eastern Visayas and Caraga, of which 48 were destroyed while 101 were partially damaged.

Marasigan said the number of deaths subject to verification has reached 41 while 45 others remain missing.

However, data from Eastern Visayas regional police showed casualties have reached to 46.

The report shows that 33 fatalities were recorded in Biliran, six in Leyte, two in Samar, three in Eastern Samar and two in Ormoc.

As of 4 am Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recorded a total of 118 passengers, five vessels and eight motor boats that remain stranded in different port in Palawan. DMS