Typhoon reduces Philippine farmers to beggars The secluded valley that sheltered banana crops from communist and Muslim rebellions offered no refuge from Typhoon Bopha, which left farmers destitute in seconds. Last week's terrifying storm has left more than 1,600 people dead or missing in the southern Philippines, and all but wiped out the banana plantations that are one of the desperately poor country's few export earners. Images and a soundbite.