Typhoon-hit families in the province of Ilocos Norte have received about 8,586 food packs worth PHP958,770, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported Wednesday.

Rachelle Gajes, provincial social welfare and development officer, said the family food packs contained rice, canned goods, instant coffee, and cereal drinks.

“Relief operations were done by the LGUs (local government units). Then we augment based on the list of unserved beneficiaries,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

Based on the latest report of the PDRRMC, 17,241 families consisting of 58,303 individuals were affected by Super Typhoon Julian.

It said 33 houses were damaged, 1,733 were isolated, and 15,046 were inundated.

Ilocos Norte, which declared a state of calamity on Tuesday, also distributed hygiene kits to families in evacuation centers.

Based on the 5 p.m. bulletin of the state weather bureau, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 remains hoisted over Batanes, the Babuyan Islands (Babuyan, Calayan, Dalupiri, and Fuga Islands), and the northern and western portions of Ilocos Norte (Bangui, Burgos, and Pagudpud) even though Julian is already outside of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

Meanwhile, about 98 percent of houses and establishments in Ilocos Norte have been reenergized after the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) implemented a preemptive power shutdown.

INEC acting general manager Cipriano Martinez assured the public that they are working diligently to promptly restore electricity to all villages in the province. (PNA)