TYPHOON “Marce” made landfall yesterday in Cagayan province, its strong winds blowing away roofs and uprooting trees.
Rueli Rapsing, chief of the Cagayan provincial risk reduction and management office, said “gustiness of more than 180 kph with heavy to intense rains” was being experienced in the province as of 6 p.m. yesterday.
He said uprooted trees and blown-away roofs were reported in in Sta Ana town where Marce made landfall at 3:40 p.m. yesterday, and Gonzaga and other coastal towns in the province.
Rapsing said he was still waiting for official reports as to the damage caused by Marce. “But definitely, there will be because we’ve seen flying debris, we’ve seen GI (galvanized iron) sheets flying. There were also fallen trees,” he said in a phone interview last night.
Nearly 30 areas were under storm signal warnings, including three which were under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4.
Marce is forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this afternoon or evening.
The three areas under Signal No. 4, based on a bulletin issued at 8 p.m. yesterday by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), were the northern part of Cagayan (including Babuyan Islands), northern portion of Apayao, and the northern portion of Ilocos Norte. PAGASA said the potential impact of winds to life and property in areas under Signal No. 4 is “significant to severe.”
Six areas — Batanes, rest of Cagayan, rest of Apayao, rest of Ilocos Norte, northern portion of Abra, and northern portion of Ilocos Sur — were under Signal No. 3.
Eight areas were under Signal No. 2 — northern and central port of Isabela, rest of Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, northern portion of Ifugao, northern portion of Benguet, rest of Ilocos Sur, and northern portion of La Union.
Ten other areas are under Signal No. 1 — rest of La Union, Pangasinan, rest of Ifugao, rest of Benguet, rest of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, northern and central portions of Aurora, northern portion of Nueva Ecija and the northern portion of Zambales.
As of 7 p.m. yesterday, the center of Marce was in the coastal waters of Aparri, Cagayan. It was moving west northwestward at 10 kph, packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 240 kph.
PAGASA said Marce will move generally westward, emerge over Aparri Bay, and possibly make another landfall along the coast of northwestern mainland Cagayan later last night.
“Regardless of the position of the center of the eye in the next several hours, it must be emphasized that potentially life threatening conditions due to typhoon-force winds, storm surge inundation, and torrential rainfall will be experienced in the Babuyan Islands
and the northern portions of mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, and Apayao,” PAGASA said.
PAGASA, in its 8 p.m. bulletin, said Marce may weaken in the next 12 to 24 hours “due to interaction with the terrain of mainland Luzon and the possible dry air intrusion from the prevailing northeasterly wind flow.”
“Nevertheless, it will remain as a typhoon throughout its passage within the PAR region. The surge of the northeasterly wind flow will trigger a continuous period of weakening during the weekend,” it added.
“The possibility of (Marce) reaching super typhoon category after crossing northeastern Cagayan is still not ruled out,” said PAGASA.
In a radio interview earlier, Rapsing said there was report of flooding or people who got hurt.
“There was still no flooding but there are already reports of trees that were uprooted, and GI (galvanized iron) sheets that were blown away,” he said.
Rapsing said initial reports also showed the public market and the police station of Sta. Ana have sustained damage.
He also said about 6,000 families or 20,000 individuals from 21 municipalities have been preemptively evacuated. He said their needs are being attended to by local government units.
Edgar Posadas, spokesman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said the agency received reports of heavy rains and strong winds in Cagayan.
He said information from Leon Rafael, director of the Office of Civil Defense-Cagayan Valley, showed roofs were blown away in Sta Ana and Gonzaga town.
Initial cost of damage to the agriculture sector of tropical cyclones “Kristine” and “Leon” is now at P6.83 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The damage is equivalent to volume loss of 317,316 metric tons (MT) that affected 171,080 farmers and fishers in 141,971 hectares (ha) of affected areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen and Caraga.
Bulk of Kristine’s recorded damage is from rice at P5.05 billion equivalent to 271,464 MT from a total of 131,168 ha wherein 91,099 ha or 69.45 percent is partially damaged while the remaining 40,069 ha or 30.55 percent is totally damaged.
President Marcos Jr. thanked Singapore for the help it extended the country during the onslaught of Kristine. – With Jed Macapagal and Jocelyn Montemayor
In a social media post, Marcos said quick response from Singapore has made a difference in the lives of so many Filipinos in the hardest-hit areas.
“Just got off the phone with Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong … The Philippines sends our heartfelt gratitude and we look forward to deepening our ties and creating even more ways to support each other across the region,” Marcos said.
He said apart from the recent typhoons, he also discussed with Wong how to sustain the partnership among the nations “from humanitarian aid to tackling climate challenges” all within the framework of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) cooperation”.
Singapore sent a C-130 to the Philippines, which was used in the delivery of assistance and rescue of those affected by the Kristine.
The President has also acknowledged help from other ASEAN nations that sent aircraft and equipment, like Malayasia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
