MANILA, Philippines -- Tropical storm "Mina" (international codename: Mitag) affected close to 400,000 people, mostly due to floods, sending 231,388 of them to evacuation centers throughout Luzon, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said Monday evening.

In its 6 p.m. report, the NDCC said the death toll remained at eight people, mostly from drowning, with four missing, including two Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots who failed to return to base in Puerto Princesa City Monday moon, after a search and security patrol mission over the Kalayaan Islands in the disputed Spratlys chain.

The two pilots were identified as Captains Bonifacio Soriano and Gavino Mercado. PAF chief Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino Jr., said the Philippine Navy and the United States Pacific Command would be asked to help look for the missing airmen.

Mina blew away from the Luzon mainland Monday afternoon after pounding the northeastern provinces. At the same time, tropical storm "Lando" (international codename: Hagibis) reentered the country and was forecast to make landfall in northwest Palawan Tuesday evening.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a massive "preemptive evacuation" of residents at risk from floods, landslides, and storm surges.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. who chairs the NDCC, said the preparations have paid off.

"We cannot change the wrath of nature, but because of our preparations, we have mitigated or buffered the impact [of the storms]," Teodoro told a news conference at NDCC headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

"With the return of 'Lando,' and the expected development of 'Nonoy,' we are ready, your government is ready, on orders of the President," Teodoro said, as he appealed to the public to "continue to be prepared and vigilant while these storms are here."

"Nonoy" is a brewing tropical depression over the Pacific Ocean that is forecast to merge with Lando when it exits to the Philippine Sea via Camarines Norte province on Thursday.

The merged storms are forecast to bring rains to the eastern seaboard, even is they are not expected to make landfall on the way to southern Japan.

As of 6 p.m., the NDCC said 88,317 families or 399,033 persons in 827 villages were affected by floods. Of these, 50,571 families or 231,388 individuals were housed in 642 evacuation centers.

The Bicol Region, which Mina was originally forecast to hit until it veered northwards, had the most number of evacuees at 227,277.

There were 3,351 evacuees in the Cagayan Valley Region, which was directly hit by the storm, and 750 others in Central Luzon and Aurora province.