The Episcopal Church in the Philippines is urging everyone to offer prayers for those areas and communities affected by Typhoon Hagupit (local name Typhoon Ruby), which hit the central Philippines last December 6. The typhoon was initially forecast to be a super typhoon but was downgraded to a tropical cyclone after it weakened.
Earlier forecasts showed that Typhoon Ruby would hit the same areas previously devastated by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, many of which are still recovering from the super typhoon's wrath. A lot of people from these places are still housed in evacuation centers or temporary shelters as their houses have not yet been rebuilt.
The Episcopal Church in the Philippines' provincial secretary and natonal development officer Floyd Lalwet said the new typhoon came at a time when the church's disaster response project for areas previously hit by Yolanda were going smoothly, and he encouraged everyone to pray that those areas along Typhoon Ruby's path be spared from further destruction.