AFP, MANILAThe number of people killed by a powerful storm that pummeled the central Philippines over Christmas has risen to 50, authorities said yesterday, making it the nation’s deadliest storm last year. Typhoon Phanfone’s destructive winds and heavy rains brought down flimsy homes and destroyed commercial buildings mainly on the central island of Visayas, affecting more than 2 million people. At least 80,000 remain in emergency shelters due to the scale of the destruction. Typhoon Phanfone, locally called Ursula, was the 21st cyclone of last year to hit the storm-prone Philippines. Many of the storms wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure, keeping millions of people in perpetual poverty.
