Vatican City, 26 December, 2019 / 1:20 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis Thursday prayed for the people of the Philippines, who were hit Christmas Day by a typhoon which has killed more than a dozen people and caused extensive damage.
“I join in the pain that hit the dear population of the Philippines because of the typhoon Phanfone,” the pope said Dec. 26, at the end of his Angelus address.
Typhoon Phanfone first struck the Eastern Samar province of the Philippines as a Category 1 hurricane Dec. 24, continuing across the islands of the Eastern Visayas region into southern Luzon and Western Visayas Dec. 25.
According to CNN, at least 16 people have been killed and around 2,351 people affected. Over 1,600 people are in evacuation centers.
The rain and extreme winds have led to flooding and power outages, and caused massive destruction to homes, roads, trees, and electricity pylons in the majority Catholic region.
