The death toll due to the onslaught of Typhoon Tino climbed to 66 while 26 others remain missing, an Office of Civil Defense (OCD) official said on Wednesday.

"We're still getting updates from Iloilo, Panay Island and Palawan. We hope this number will not increase anymore and once it is validated it will stay this way," Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Officer-in-Charge Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said in an interview at ANC.

"Most of the deaths are attributed to fallen debris and then flooding but the others are still subject for validation on really the cause," he added.

Majority of the deaths were in Cebu Province, which was the second area to be hit by the typhoon after it made landfall in Samar. The Palace, quoting the OCD, said there were at least 49 deaths in Cebu.

Cebu City and other areas literally sunk due to the big amount of rain as pictures circulated showing homes underwater and cars piled on top in the streets.

Alejandro said residents in Cebu were surprised to find out on Tuesday morningb that many areas were flooded.

In a separate interview at ANC, Cebu Gov. Pam Baricuatro said ''they took it for granted that there would be no flash flood.'' ''Others did not heed the warning and insisted on staying,'' she said.

Baricuatro, who was elected this May, alleged that substandard flood control projects caused flooding. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said if Baricuatro ''has any more inormation, facts, data that can help our government hold those who should be held accountable, that is welcome.''

An updated report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also shows that the number of affected families rose to 345,278 or 1,200,647 persons.

Of the total, there were 508,994 displaced and being served inside the total of 4,331 evacuation centers in the affected regions.

It also reported that a total of 53 cities and municipalities were declared under state of calamity because of the typhoon.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) monitored 2,647 passengers, truck drivers, cargo helpers, 574 rolling cargoes, 12 vessels and eight motorbancas that were stranded in 36 ports or barangays in areas affected by the typhoon. A total of 120 vessels and 62 motorbancas were also taking shelter due to Tino.

As of 5pm, ''Tino'' had maximum sustained winds of 140 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph. It was last spotted at 330 km east northeast of Pagasa Island, Kalayaan, Palawan.

''Tino'' was moving west northwestward at the speed of 30 kph.

Kalayaan Islands were placed under tropical cyclone wind signal number 2 while signal number 1 was declared over Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Islands and the rest of Palawan including Calamian and Cuyo Islands.

Tino is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday night or Thursday early morning.

The typhoon may "re-intensify in the next 12 hours and may reach its peak intensity while over the West Philippine Sea." Robina Asido/DMS