Typhoon Yinxing—locally known as “Marce”—slammed into the northeast tip of the Philippines on Thursday, uprooting trees and sending building materials flying, weeks after another storm left at least 150 people dead.
More than 21,000 people across 200 villages in Cagayan province were evacuated in the hours before the mid-afternoon landfall, provincial disaster official Rueli Rapsing said.
“There is debris flying all around. Here in Gonzaga, an entire hamburger stand flew off and the winds are ripping open the shop doors at the public market,” Rapsing told Agence France Presse (AFP) by phone from Gonzaga, a town near coastal Santa Ana.
Yinxing is the third storm in less than a month to threaten the Philippines after Severe Tropical Storm Trami/Kristine and Super Typhoon Kong-rey /Leon together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Trami.
Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour and gusts up to 240 kph, the typhoon struck the coastal town of Santa Ana and nearby areas, unleashing heavy rain and ripping off parts of houses.
Rapsing said the storm had uprooted trees and authorities were trying to confirm reports that the Santa Ana police station had been damaged. No casualties were immediately reported.
The Cagayan provincial government’s disaster response was being conducted from a public building in Gonzaga, he said. Santa Ana officials could not be reached for comment.
The national weather agency said Cagayan, home to about 1.3 million people, might bear the brunt of ‘Marce’ based on its current trajectory.
In Ilocos Norte province near Cagayan, rescuers were on standby to help local police, fire officers and soldiers in emergency response, provincial rescue official Randy Nicolas told AFP.
School has been suspended in many areas of the north and President Ferdinand Marcos put all government agencies on high alert so they could swiftly respond.
As of this posting, the following areas across northern Luzon remain under varying degrees of wind signals:
· TCWS No. 4 – The northern portion of Cagayan (Gonzaga, Santa Ana, Santa Teresita, Lal-Lo, Buguey, Aparri, Camalaniugan, Gattaran, Ballesteros, Allacapan, Abulug, Pamplona, Sanchez- Mira, Claveria, Santa Praxedes, Lasam) including Babuyan Islands, the northern portion of Apayao (Santa Marcela, Luna, Flora, Calanasan, Pudtol), and the northern portion of Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud, Bangui, Vintar, Dumalneg, Adams, Bacarra, Pasuquin, Burgos)
· TCWS No. 3 – Batanes, the rest of Cagayan, the rest of Apayao, the rest of Ilocos Norte, the northern portion of Abra (Tineg, Danglas, Lagayan, Lacub, San Juan, La Paz, Bangued), and the northern portion of Ilocos Sur (Sinait, Cabugao, San Juan, Magsingal, Santo Domingo)
· TCWS No. 2 – The northern and central portions of Isabela (San Pablo, Santa Maria, Divilacan, Tumauini, Maconacon, Cabagan, Santo Tomas, Quezon, Palanan, Ilagan City, Mallig, Delfin Albano, Quirino, San Mariano, Gamu, Roxas, Naguilian, Burgos, Reina Mercedes, Benito Soliven, Luna, Aurora, San Manuel, San Mateo, Alicia, Angadanan, City of Cauayan, Cabatuan), the rest of Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, the northern portion of Ifugao (Alfonso Lista, Aguinaldo, Mayoyao, Banaue, Hungduan), the northern portion of Benguet (Bakun, Mankayan), the rest of Ilocos Sur, and the northern portion of La Union (Sudipen, Bangar, Balaoan, Luna, Santol)
· TCWS No. 1 – 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, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, Baler), the northern portion of Nueva Ecija (Carranglan), and the northern portion of Zambales (Santa Cruz, Candelaria) With Rio Araja
