is php dead ?

It all depends on what you need it for.
If you are familiar with javascript, yeah go ahead use nodejs
otherwise PHP would be a simpler and nicer solution for any basic website

According to W3Techs' data, PHP is used by 78.9% of all websites with a known server-side programming language. So almost 8 out of every 10 websites that you visit on the Internet are using PHP in some way. Why would you think it is dead?