A local official reported Thursday that the death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by severe tropical storm Paeng in Maguindanao has increased to 63. Seventeen persons remain unaccounted for in the province, according to Maguindanao Provincial Administrator Atty. Torrena, Cyrus

According to the authority, many of the victims were mountain inhabitants. These people used to live by the coast, but they were evacuated as a precaution against tsunamis and storm surges.

“There [are] no other records that pointed to the [relocation] area as a geohazard area,” he told ANC’s “Rundown.”

He also said that local officials followed all relocation procedures.

The national death toll from Paeng has risen to 150, with the crisis affecting roughly 4 million people.