'Life-threatening' Marce makes Cagayan landfall

Typhoon Marce (international name Yinxing) made landfall over Santa Ana in Cagayan yesterday afternoon, uprooting trees and sending building materials flying, weeks after previous storms left at least 150 people dead.

- By ROMINA CABRERA

More than 21,000 people across 200 villages in Cagayan were evacuated in the hours before the mid-afternoon landfall, provincial disaster official Rueli Rapsing said.

"There are 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 AFP by phone from Gonzaga, a town near Santa Ana.

Marce is the third storm in less than a month to threaten the country after Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) and Super Typhoon Leon (Kong-rey) together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Kristine.

Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers 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.

In Ilocos Norte, rescuers were on standby to help local police, fire officers and soldiers in emergency response, provincial rescue official Randy Nicolas said.

Nicolas said they are closely monitoring possible landslides, floods and swelling of rivers in the province, with storm surges - huge waves along the coast, also a concern in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan.

Disaster officials in Apayao said almost 500 people have been evacuated. "We really prioritized preemptive evacuations because we want to have zero deaths here in Apayao," provincial disaster official Aldrin Agmata said.

Life-threatening

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned of "life-threatening" conditions brought about by Marce's typhoon-force winds, storm surge inundation and torrential rainfall.