TYPHOON Marce (international name: Yinxing) affected 7,233 families in three regions during its passage across the tip of Northern Luzon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Friday.
The families were from 239 barangay (villages) in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera regions, the NDRRMC said.
Close to 3,000 families, consisting of 11,476 persons, were sheltering in 186 evacuation centers.
Marce has further weakened while proceeding westward in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Friday.
Pagasa Administrator Nathaniel Servando said Signal No. 3 remained raised over Ilocos Norte, the northwestern portion of mainland Cagayan, the northwestern portion of Apayao, the northern and western portions of Abra, and the northern part of Ilocos Sur.
Still under Signal No. 2 were the western portions of Babuyan Islands, the northern and western portions of mainland Cagayan, the rest of Apayao, the rest of Abra, the northern and western portions of Kalinga, and the central portions of Ilocos Sur.
Signal No. 1 remained over Batanes, the rest of Babuyan Islands, the rest of mainland Cagayan, the northern and western portions of Isabela, the northern and western portions of Nueva Vizcaya, the northwestern portion of Quirino, the rest of Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, the rest of Ilocos Sur, La Union, and the northern and central portions of Pangasinan.
In its 8 a.m. bulletin on Friday, the weather agency tracked the eye of the typhoon about 100 kilometers west-northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
It was moving west-southwestward at 15 kilometers per hour (kph), with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 205 kph.
Pagasa said Marce would continue to weaken as it encounters dry air from the prevailing northeasterly wind flow but will remain as a typhoon as it passes through the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
Marce was the third storm to hit the Philippines in two weeks, behind Kristine and Leon.
Last Wednesday, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) lauded the Indonesian aerial contingent for its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) response following the onslaught of Kristine.
Air Force spokesman Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the efforts of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), which deployed two helicopters and 24 personnel, were cited during a recognition and awarding ceremony held at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Castillo said the PAF commander, Lt. Gen. Stephen Parreño, “emphasized that the Indonesian military’s swift and effective response to the crisis demonstrated the enduring friendship and cooperation between the Republics of Indonesia and the Philippines.”
The 24 members of the Indonesian contingent, headed by Col. Asep Wahyu Wijaya of the Indonesian Air Force, were presented with the Chief of Staff Commendation Medal and Ribbon and the Military Civic Action Medal.
The contingent, along with two Indonesian helicopters, was deployed to the Philippines on Oct. 31.
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