Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the people in Asia hit by Typhoon Bualoi and prayed for its victims on Sunday.

"I am close to the affected populations, especially the poorest, and I pray for the victims, the missing, the many displaced families, the countless people who have suffered hardship, and also the civil authorities' rescue workers." said the pope, at the end of a Mass for the Jubilee of Catechists, which he presided over in St Peter's Square.

Vietnam evacuated thousands of people from central and northern provinces on Sunday as Typhoon Bualoi raced toward the country faster than expected with landfall forecast later in the day.

The typhoon was expected to bring winds of up to 133 kph (83 mph), storm surges of more than a meter (3.2 feet) and heavy rains that could trigger flash floods and landslides.

Bualoi had left at least 20 people dead in the central Philippines since Friday, mostly from drownings and falling trees, and knocked out power in several towns and cities, officials said.

The storm forced about 23,000 families to evacuate to more than 1,400 emergency shelters.

Bualoi was the second major storm to threaten Asia in a week.

Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest to hit in years, left at least 28 deaths in the northern Philippines and Taiwan before making landfall in China and dissipating Thursday over Vietnam.

Global warming is making storms stronger and wetter, according to experts, since warmer oceans provide tropical storms with more fuel, driving more intense winds, heavier rainfall, and shifting precipitation patterns across East Asia.