Countless lives were saved in the Philippines this weekend by early warning systems funded by Catholics in England and Wales, the aid agency Cafod has said.

Typhoon Hagupit – known locally as Ruby – killed at least 27 people when it tore through the country on Saturday, obliterating homes and crops.

But Aude Archambault, CAFOD's Emergency Manager for the Philippines, said that early warning and emergency response systems meant that the damage was far less than when Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,340 in November 2013.

“Thanks to the donations of Catholics in England and Wales, we have prioritised Disaster Risk Reduction projects over the last year, and it appears that this work has helped to limit the damage this time round. For example the houses we built in Eastern Samar after Haiyan, designed to be resilient to disasters, successfully withstood the typhoon. But we are continuing to assess the situation and to keep all those affected in our prayers,” he said.

Catholics in England and Wales donated more than £5.4 million to CAFOD’s Typhoon Haiyan appeal.

During the storm, Rey Barnido from CAFOD partner Caritas Philippines described the atmosphere in a parish evacuation centre in the town of Palo on Leyte island:

“The wind is literally howling. It sounds like someone crying out in pain. It is very eerie. We are in the midst of darkness because of the blackout. The rain is relentless. There is trauma because of Haiyan - people are panicking because of the intensity of the typhoon.

The Pope is due to visit the Philippines in January.

Above: A woman wades through floodwater next to a damaged church on Samar Island, Philippines. Typhoon Hagupit weakened into a tropical storm after leaving at least 21 people dead and forcing more than a million people into shelters. (CNS photo/Francis R. Malasig, EPA)