The recently proposed set of zeroth-order moment equations to model poloidal density asymmetries induced by temperature anisotropies in rotating tokamak plasmas (Bilato et al 2014 Nucl. Fusion54072003) is here extended to account for the effects of the localization of the ion-cyclotron (IC) resonance on the poloidal inhomogeneity of the density of the cyclotron-heated ion species. This additional effect has a significant impact on the poloidal density asymmetries due to radio-frequency heating, a key issue for high-Z impurity transport, leading, in particular, to a reduced ICRF heating impact on the in–out accumulation of high-Z impurities when the IC resonance is located on the HFS.