Manila , Philippines ( CNN ) -- Tropical Storm Washi moved away from the southern Philippines early Monday , but not before leaving behind a wake of destruction and at least 652 people dead , according to the Philippine Red Cross . There were no public storm warnings for the East Asian island nation Monday morning , according to the Philippine Atmospheric , Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration . Yet authorities and residents still had the considerable task of cleaning up from the devastation and mourning those killed by what the state-run Philippines News Agency noted was the 19th tropical system to hit the nation this season . A report released Monday morning by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council noted that the storm had affected more than 135,000 people , nearly 47,000 of whom were in evacuation centers . President Beningo Aquino plans to visit the region Tuesday . The Red Cross noted that hundreds are missing after entire villages were swept away , suggesting the death toll could rise further . The stench of death permeated the air as aid workers scrambled to help survivors . The disaster has left heartbreaking scenes of families with children looking for ways to get by during the festive Christmas season . `` Do we still have Christmas , mother ? '' one crying little girl asked her mother , according to the Red Cross . `` Will I get my toys and my new pair of shoes you promised ? '' `` Of course you will , '' the mother replied . `` Christmas will always be around . '' Military and disaster officials said the vast majority of the dead were found in the port cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro , many of them swept away as they were sleeping . Water-logged bodies from washed-away villages floated at the shoreline , on the northwestern coast of Mindanao island . Five people were killed in a landslide , but virtually all the others died in flash flooding after Tropical Storm Washi , which is called Sendong locally . Survivors in the hardest-hit areas are contending with no electricity or clean drinking water . One woman in Cagayan de Oro collected murky brown floodwater in a bucket , just meters away from where a destroyed vehicle was submerged . Flash flooding overnight Friday -- following 10 hours of rain -- fueled the devastation . As much as 20 centimeters ( 8 inches ) of rain fell within 24 hours in some areas . December generally brings about 60 millimeters of rain ( a little over 2 inches ) to the region , CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri reported . Overflowing rivers and tributaries compounded the disaster for low-lying areas , and officials said floodwater reached roof-level in the middle of the night . The destruction left cars , furniture and parts of houses in mangled heaps , partly immersed in squalid floodwater . The storm moved into Cagayan de Oro -- a densely populated , urbanized city -- during the overnight hours when people were asleep . A half dozen vehicles there looked like littered toy trucks , with some on their sides or roofs . Many people trudged through knee-high water and packed into evacuation centers . An estimated 100,000 people are displaced , according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development . The national disaster council noted that about 377 passengers -- on four ships -- were stranded as of Sunday night , due to the storm . In addition , nine sections of roads and bridges were seriously damaged . While the tropical storm had passed off-shore , some unrelated thunderstorms threatened to dump even more water on the region , Javaheri said . The weather was warm , with temperatures of up to about 30 degrees Celsius ( 86 Fahrenheit ) , . Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon will travel to the stricken region Monday to assess the damage , the organization said . `` Certainly this is a very severe humanitarian crisis going on , '' Gordon said Sunday . Authorities have started distributing food rations for some 10,000 families affected by the storm , while also handing out thousands of blankets and mosquito nets , the Red Cross said . The aid agency is appealing for drinking water , food and dry clothes , and officials have asked for volunteers to pack food to send to those who have been displaced . Some Philippine residents called the disaster unprecedented . Benito Ramos , chairman of the national disaster council , said he thinks the event was influenced by climate change and deforestation . Ramos said the storm moved in a westward path to areas rarely hit by major storms or flooding . The most devastated cities -- Cagayan de Oro and Iligan -- became catch basins for water flowing from highlands with denuded forests . Floodwater from Bukidnon province poured down into Cagayan de Oro , while water from Lanao del Sur province gushed into Iligan . CNN Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera contributed to this report .
NE : The tropical storm passes the Philippines . NEW : The system has killed more than 135,000 people , a national agency says . President Aquino plans to visit the region soon . ` ` Do we still have time , Mama ? '' a crying young woman asks .