One of the strongest storms ever recorded is racing toward the Philippines where it is expected to wreak havoc, according to weather experts.
According to NOAA, Super Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, has maxed out the Dvorak scale, used to measure tropical cyclone intensity using visible and infrared satellite images.
"Put another way, the most commonly used satellite-based intensity scale just wasn't designed to handle a storm this strong," Eric Holthaus writes at Quartz. "Within the last hour, one real-time estimate of the storm's intensity has actually ticked slightly above the maximum to 8.1 on an 8.0 scale."
Then, referring to himself, Holthaus stated: "This meteorologist, for one, has never seen that before."
Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami's Resenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, reported in a NASA statement Thursday that the cyclone had achieved "perfection," racking up 190 mph winds.
Schools and offices have already closed and thousands of people are being evacuated in the Philippines, according to ABC, with landfall expected sometime Friday morning, local time.
"Let me repeat myself: This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," President Benigno S. Aquino III in a speech, CNN reported.
According to NASA, mass amounts of damage should be expected.
"The U.S. National Hurricane Center website indicates that a Category 5 hurricane/typhoon would cause catastrophic damage: A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse," the agency wrote in a news release. "Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months."
Following the Philippines, Haiyan is projected to continue on through the South China Sea before slamming up against Vietnam.