In response to the onslaught of Typhoon Marce, also known internationally as Yinxing, over 3,469 families, totaling 10,088 individuals, have been evacuated from high-risk zones in Region II since Wednesday. The typhoon has been battering the northernmost part of mainland Luzon, prompting urgent action from local authorities.
Lucia Alan, the regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region II, announced during a Thursday media briefing that the evacuees hail from vulnerable areas in Batanes, Cagayan, and Isabela. Government agencies are closely monitoring the situation to ensure the evacuees’ needs are met while they remain in shelters.
The DSWD Region II has already distributed relief goods valued at PHP532,460 to support local governments in the typhoon-affected areas. This aid is in addition to the ongoing relief efforts by local government units. Alan reported that the regional office has PHP139,031,945 in available relief resources, including PHP3 million in standby funds for emergency purchases.
The region is well-prepared with 84,000 family food packs worth PHP58 million and non-food items such as sleeping kits, hygiene kits, and tents valued at PHP78 million. DSWD warehouses in Abulug, Camalaniugan, Tuguegarao, Ilagan, and Santiago are stocked with family food packs, supplementing the prepositioned goods held by local government units.
Municipalities like Aparri, Pamplona, and Camalaniugan have already sought additional family food packs from DSWD due to pre-emptive evacuations. The latest bulletin from the state weather bureau at 8 p.m. indicated that the center of Typhoon Marce was over the coastal waters of Aparri, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h and gusts up to 240 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4 has been hoisted over the northern part of Cagayan, including Babuyan Islands, the northern portion of Apayao, and the northern portion of Ilocos Norte. The typhoon is expected to move westward, cross Aparri Bay, and potentially make another landfall along the northwestern coast of mainland Cagayan tonight, before emerging over the West Philippines early Friday morning.