'Vinta' affects more than 24,000 families in north Luzon

MANILA, Philippines - More than 24,000 families were affected by Typhoon "Vinta" in three regions in Luzon, the government's disaster response agency reported Saturday morning.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that as of 6 a.m., a total of 24,123 fmailies or 104,828 people were affected by the typhoon's lashing in 26 municipalities and a city in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Isabela, Abra and Apayao.

The agency said that only 299 families out of the total number of affected families were displaced.

Some areas in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan and the Cordillera Administrative Region continue to experience power outages.

The NDRRMC also reported that a total of 1,737 houses were totally damaged and 13,174 were partially damaged by the typhoon's strong winds.

The typhoon's damage to agriculture in the five affected provinces was pegged at P28.5 million while the damage to infrastructure was estimated at P1.3 million.

Vinta swept through Cagayan and other northern Luzon provinces with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 160 kph.

The typhoon left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday.