Tropical Storm Quinta (international codename: Wukong), the 17th to hit the country, left five people dead and three missing as it cut through the central Philippines, following devastating Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha) that killed over 1,500 people earlier this month, officials said on Thursday.

The toll from Quinta was relatively low as the public, alarmed by the huge number of fatalities left by Pablo were quick to take precautionary measures, said Maria Nogra, regional civil defense officer.

“It’s the awareness of the people regarding disasters. They were prepared. They had pre-emptive evacuations before the storm struck. They saw what happened [with Pablo],” she said.

Quinta hit the central islands on Christmas Day, bringing strong winds and rains. Three people were killed when a tree fell on their home in the central island of Samar, while most of the other dead and missing were washed away by overflowing rivers, Nogra added.

Executive Director Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council on Thursday identified the dead as Rodrigo Busa, 56; Rosita Busa, 50; and Kimjie Busa, 7—all from Barangay del Pilar, Maytdolong, Eastern Samar province.

The two other unidentified bodies were recovered in Barangay Pahiran in Iloilo.

The missing persons were Mario Austria, 55, of Talisay, Batangas; Julio Noya Silvano, 36, of Barangay Macario, Merida, Leyte; and Arnulfo Bayutas, 18, of Licuan, Bartoac Nuevo, Iloilo.

Ramos said that at least 20 municipalities in western and central Visayas Regions were under waters, including the provinces of Capiz, Aklan and Iloilo where several towns were in neck-deep waters, preventing military trucks to penetrate.

“Force evacuation was implemented. Right now there are 1,098 families inside the evacuation centers,” Ramos added.

Latest statistics from the Disaster agency operations centers showed that Quinta affected 2,431 families or 13,521 persons in 27 barangays, 20 municipalities, five cities in four provinces of Regions VI, VII and VIII.

Over 14,000 passengers were stranded in various seaports in Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Palawan, Western Visayas and Southern Luzon.

As of Thursday, Quinta had weakened into a low-pressure area as it moved slowly west at 17 kilometer per hour toward Coron, Palawan.

Signal No.1 was still hoisted in Mindoro Occidental, Northern Palawan, Calamian Group of Islands and Cuyo Island.

Floods and landslides unleashed by Pablo, which hit on December 4 and was the strongest storm to batter the disaster-prone country this year, killed over 1,500 people and hundreds more remain missing, according to officials.

Relief efforts are still going on in areas in the southern Philippines ravaged by Pablo, with entire towns wiped out by flashfloods.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 major storms or typhoons each year that occur mainly during the rainy season between June and October.