More than 20,000 individuals were impacted by Typhoon Marce in Northern Luzon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday, Nov. 8.

A situational report from the NDRRMC showed that 20,674 individuals (7,233 families) were affected in 239 barangays in Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The three regions are still reeling from the devastating impact of the recent Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” and Super Typhoon “Leon” last month.

Of those affected, there were 14,389 individuals that were displaced due to flooding and landslides. They were staying in 186 evacuation centers at present.

In Cagayan, around 700 families were rescued by the Coast Guard Station Cagayan in Aparri town due to Marce on Nov. 7.

No casualty has been recorded so far but eight roads and five bridges in Regions 1 and 2, and CAR were not passable to the public.

Hundreds, if not thousands of households were also affected by power interruption in 14 areas in the three regions, forcing the cancellation of classes in 256 areas and suspension of work in 94 areas.

Nonetheless, the NDRRMC has distributed around P190,000 worth of relief assistance to the affected families.

Meanwhile, the combined death toll from Kristine and Leon further rose to 158 while 21 persons remained missing, according to the NDRRMC.

The number of persons affected by the two weather disturbances also increased to 9.1 million (2.3 million families).

Damage to infrastructure and agriculture reached P17.5 billion, posing a big challenge to the national government as to how it will help affected individuals to get back on their feet.

IACC reactivated

In a press briefing, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Usec. Ariel Nepomuceno said the NDRRMC has reactivated the Inter-Agency Coordination Cell (IACC) due to the devastation wrought by recent typhoons. 

The IACC serves as the primary mechanism overseeing the immediate and preparatory rescue and relief for areas affected by the calamities, and provides operational and tactical support to Cabinet level council members of the NDRRMC.

It focuses on streamlining coordination for relief efforts, collaborating closely with local government units (LGUs) and regional offices of the OCD. It also acts as a hub for international aid, facilitating the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in managing foreign military assistance for disaster response.

"We’re still in the middle of the recovery efforts for the other two typhoons, Kristine and Leon. Even before that, we have [Typhoon] Julian so it’s one after the other. In terms of all the efforts, we have to consolidate all figures," he said.

"At the moment we are focused on handling Marce and another one is coming, hopefully it won't, but there might be another one sometime November 14 according to PAGASA," he added.

Enough assets

Nepomuceno also assured that there are sufficient national government assets to support the workforce and logistics of the local government units (LGUs) affected by Marce.

He said 1,210 dedicated teams from the AFP were deployed to Regions 1, 2 and CAR while 1,364 vehicles and 88 land assets, water craft, and aircraft have been dedicated for response.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), on the other hand, provided 81 land assets, and 132 watercraft to assist the three regions.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is also prepared to deploy 10,000 personnel for disaster response if needed, Nepomuceno said.