Pope Francis on Sunday said he was praying for
the Philippines after one of its islands was devastated by floods and
landslides, killing roughly 200 people, and a separate shopping mall
fire likely claimed about three dozen lives.
Francis noted that the storm hitting the
Mindanao region "has caused numerous victims and much destruction" as he
greeted people in St. Peter's Square, hours before he was set to
celebrate Christmas Eve vigil Mass.
"Let's pray for these people," he urged to those in the square.
Rescuers continued the search Sunday for survivors of Tropical Storm
Tembin, which unleashed devastation late Friday as it left thousands of
people homeless, most of whom apparently ignored warnings to move to
safety.
Misery in the largely Christian Philippines
was compounded by the death of at least 37 people in a shopping mall
fire, officials said on Christmas Eve.
The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings
are routinely issued, but the level of destruction wreaked by this
tropical storm — with winds of up to 75 mph, came as a surprise.
"It happened very fast, the flood waters
quickly rose filling our house," farmer Felipe Ybarsabal, 65, told
Reuters by telephone, saying he and his family had to run to higher
ground.
"We weren't able to save anything from the
house. There was no help from anyone because it was so fast," he added.
"Everything was two to three meters under water in less than an hour."
Pope Francis on Sunday said he was praying for
the Philippines after one of its islands was devastated by floods and
landslides, killing roughly 200 people, and a separate shopping mall
fire likely claimed about three dozen lives.
Francis noted that the storm hitting the Mindanao region "has caused numerous victims and much destruction" as he greeted people in St. Peter's Square, hours before he was set to celebrate Christmas Eve vigil Mass.
"Let's pray for these people," he urged to those in the square.
Francis noted that the storm hitting the Mindanao region "has caused numerous victims and much destruction" as he greeted people in St. Peter's Square, hours before he was set to celebrate Christmas Eve vigil Mass.
"Let's pray for these people," he urged to those in the square.
Rescuers continued the search Sunday for
survivors of Tropical Storm Tembin, which unleashed devastation late
Friday as it left thousands of people homeless, most of whom apparently
ignored warnings to move to safety.
Misery in the largely Christian Philippines
was compounded by the death of at least 37 people in a shopping mall
fire, officials said on Christmas Eve.
The Philippines is battered by about 20
typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued, but the level of
destruction wreaked by this tropical storm — with winds of up to 75 mph,
came as a surprise.
"It happened very fast, the flood waters
quickly rose filling our house," farmer Felipe Ybarsabal, 65, told
Reuters by telephone, saying he and his family had to run to higher
ground.
"We weren't able to save anything from the
house. There was no help from anyone because it was so fast," he added.
"Everything was two to three meters under water in less than an hour."
Police and emergency officials said they
expected the death toll to rise with more fatalities likely to be
discovered in remote farm communities and coastal areas, as rescuers
reached them and restored communication and power links.
Officials said 159 people were listed as missing while about 70,000 had been forced from their homes.
The storm was moving west on Sunday, over some
outlying Philippine islands and the South China Sea toward southern
Vietnam, at a speed of about 12 mph.
The southern region of the Philippines was hit
by another disaster on the weekend when fire swept through a shopping
mall in the city of Davao, killing mostly workers at a call center, city
government officials said.
The vice mayor of Davao, Paolo Duterte, said
the chance of survival for any of the 37 people missing at the NCCC Mall
was "zero."
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