RAMMB/NOAA/Himawari-9 satellite imagery 

MANILA — Tropical cyclone wind signals have been lifted over northern Luzon as typhoon Marce left the Philippine area of responsibility Friday afternoon, the state weather bureau said.

Marce left PAR at 4 p.m., PAGASA said.

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin, PAGASA said the typhoon was last located 285 kilometers west northwest of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and up to 185 kph gusts.

But Marce's trough or extension will continue to bring scattered rains and thunderstorms over Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte in the next 24 hours, the weather agency warned.

The northeasterly wind flow and the periphery of Marce will also bring strong to gale-force gusts over Batanes, northern Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, and Ilocos Region, PAGASA said.

Nearly 10,800 families had been severely affected by Marce in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and the Cordilleras, the Office of Civil Defense said, citing initial reports.

“That would translate to about 32,138 persons. And as I mentioned, inside the evacuation centers, totally 17,019 persons or 2,059 families,” OCD Spokesperson Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said in a Palace briefing.

Nepomuceno said the OCD had yet to release figures on the number of casualties and the extent of damage on infrastructure and agriculture, but initial reports showed that several roads and bridges were not passable in the three regions.

“We expect a lot of damages, dahil itong Bagyong Marce, talagang hangin iyong ano eh, napakalakas… According to the reports from the field, from Ilocos Norte and in Cagayan, lalo na sa Apayao, napakalakas noong hangin simula kagabi. So, we expect heavily damaged structures,” he said.

Agencies have prepositioned food and non-food items to help affected residents, the official said.

Philippines cleans up after typhoon Marce slams north coast

Another low pressure area may enter PAR on Friday evening or on Saturday morning. It has a low chance of developing into a tropical depression in the next 24 hours.— With a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News