Pope Leo XIV expressed his sympathies to the victims of Typhoon Tino that pummeled parts of the country last week.
“I express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been hit by a violent typhoon: I pray for the deceased and their families, as well as for the injured and displaced,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Data from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) showed that 224 individuals died during Tino’s onslaught. The highest reported death toll was recorded in Cebu with 158.
A total of 109 people are still missing – 57 in Cebu, 42 in Negros Occidental, and 10 in Negros Oriental.
The OCD said 526 people were also reported injured: 454 in Cebu province, 41 in Leyte, 28 in Negros Occidental, two in Surigao del Norte, and one in Surigao del Sur.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a one-year state of national calamity due to Typhoon Tino’s impact, as recommended by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The country is also bracing for the potential damage of Super Typhoon Uwan.
