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Pope Francis has held an open-air Mass in the Philippine city of Tacloban, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan just over a year ago, the BBC reported.

Tens of thousands of people braved pouring rain and strong winds to attend the Mass.

The Pope said as soon as he saw the catastrophe caused by the typhoon, he had decided he would go to the Philippines.

After the Mass, he will meet survivors of the typhoon.

The Pope is visiting the Philippines, where there are 80 million Catholics, as part of a six-day tour of Asia.

The typhoon, which remains the strongest storm ever recorded on land, created a 7m (23ft) high storm surge, destroying practically everything in its path when it swept ashore on 8 November 2013.

Around 90% of the city of Tacloban in Leyte province was destroyed and more than 14.5 million people were affected in six regions and 44 provinces. About one million people remain homeless.

Pope Francis will have lunch with survivors of the disaster when he travels to the nearby town of Palo later on Saturday.