(From AFP)
Tattered lanterns, festive lights and tin roofs littered towns in the central Philippines on Tuesday after Typhoon Melor (locally called Nona) swept through, killing at least four people and leaving millions without power ahead of Christmas.
Distraught survivors surveyed their damaged homes on the eve of the traditional nine-day Christmas vigil that Filipinos observe with dawn masses and rice cakes.
Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the Philippines, where 80% of its 100 million people are Catholic, and decorations such as colourful lights and lanterns have already been put up in most towns.
“It will be a very sad Christmas and a dark one because we have no power. But the important thing is everyone around me is still moving,” 54-year-old rice farmer Noemi Pesigan said. Read More