The number of people killed by a powerful storm that pummeled the central Philippines over Christmas has risen to 50, authorities said Tuesday, making it the nation's deadliest storm of 2019.

Typhoon Phanfone's destructive winds and heavy rains brought down flimsy homes and destroyed commercial buildings mainly in the central island of Visayas, affecting more than two million people.

At least 80,000 remain in emergency shelters and might have to stay until the New Year, given the scale of destruction.

"We're sad that some of our countrymen are still in evacuation centres, but we assure them they will continue to receive support until they get back on their feet," national disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal told AFP.

Five people are still missing after the storm, which also left 143 injured.

Phanfone, locally called Ursula, is the 21st typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. About 20 typhoons and tropical storms batter the Philippines each year. Aside from typhoons, the archipelago of more than 100 million people has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world mainly due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire and Pacific typhoon belt.

In 2013, the World Bank said Typhoon Haiyan resulted in the loss of 6,300 lives and caused an estimated 12.9 billion U.S. dollars in damages, or about 4.7 percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product.