TYPHOON Marce (international name Yinxing) continues to weaken but more areas in Northern Luzon have been placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 4 based on the weather bureau’s 5 a.m. bulletin Friday.

The typhoon packs maximum sustained winds of 155 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 215 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

It was located over the coastal waters of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte as of 4 a.m.

Typhoon-force winds will be experienced in areas under TCWS No. 4: Ilocos Norte, the northernmost portion of Ilocos Sur (Sinait and Cabugao), the northern portion of Abra (Danglas, Lagayan, and Tineg),the northwestern portion of Apayao (Calanasan), and the northwestern portion of mainland Cagayan (Sanchez-Mira, Claveria, and Santa Praxedes).

TCWS No. 3 is hoisted over the southern and western portion of the Babuyan Islands (Fuga Island, Dalupiri Island, Calayan Island, and Camiguin Island), the northern and western portions of Cagayan (Piat, Santo Niño, Rizal, Aparri, Lasam, Camalaniugan, Buguey, Santa Teresita, Allacapan, Pamplona, Abulug, and Ballesteros), the rest of Apayao, the central portion of Abra (Lacub, San Juan, La Paz, Bangued, Langiden, San Quintin, Pidigan, Malibcong, Peñarrubia, Bucay, Licuan-Baay, Lagangilang, Dolores, Tayum, Sallapadan, and San Isidro), and the northern portion of Ilocos Sur (Santo Domingo, San Vicente, Santa Catalina, Bantay, San Ildefonso, City of Vigan, Caoayan, Santa, Narvacan, Nagbukel, Magsingal, and San Juan). Storm-force winds will prevail in these areas.

TCWS No. 2 is hoisted over the southern portion of Batanes (Mahatao, Uyugan, Basco, Ivana, and Sabtang), the rest of the Babuyan Islands, the rest of mainland Cagayan, the northern and western portions of Isabela (San Pablo, Santa Maria, Tumauini, Maconacon, Cabagan, Santo Tomas, Quezon, Mallig, Delfin Albano, Quirino, Gamu, Roxas, Burgos, Reina Mercedes, Luna, Aurora, San Manuel, San Mateo, and Cabatuan), the rest of Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, the northern portion of Ifugao (Alfonso Lista, Aguinaldo, Mayoyao, Banaue, and Hungduan), the northern portion of Benguet (Bakun and Mankayan), the rest of Ilocos Sur, and the northern portion of La Union (Sudipen, Bangar, Balaoan, Luna, Santol, and Bacnotan). Gale-force winds will prevail in these areas.

The rest of Batanes, the rest of La Union, Pangasinan, the rest of Ifugao, the rest of Benguet, the rest of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, the northern and central portions of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan, and Dipaculao), the northern portion of Nueva Ecija (Carranglan), and the northern portion of Zambales (Santa Cruz and Candelaria) were placed under TCWS No. 1 and will experience strong winds.

DSWD READIES FOOD PACKS

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has assured that it has over 220,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned in its storage facilities in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera regions, ready to augment the resources of local government units (LGUs) for their disaster response amid Typhoon Marce (international name Yinxing).

Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the DSWD Field Office 2-Cagayan Valley has initially provided 250 FFPs and 250 non-food items (NFIs) to evacuated residents of the coastal town of Maconacon in Isabela province.

From the same report, she said a total of 1,133 families or 3,275 individuals have been affected by Typhoon Marce across the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The DRMG official said despite the ongoing disaster response for Kristine (Trami) and Leon (Kong-rey), the agency has an available national stockpile of 1,338,604 boxes of FFPs strategically prepositioned across its hubs, spokes, and last-mile facilities.

She said under the directive of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the DSWD has fully activated the hubs in Central Luzon to bolster the production of relief supplies and facilitate the delivery of aid in nearby areas that also bore the brunt of the recent weather disturbances.

In the same forum, Dumlao reported that the DSWD has so far extended 1,242,448 boxes of FFPs to families and individuals affected by Kristine and Leon nationwide.

The DSWD has also disbursed over P21.6 million in cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and the Ayuda Para sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP). Philippine News Agency

AUTHOR PROFILE

People's Journal