Typhoon Haiyan is about to hit the Philippines hard. Thousands of people have evacuated as one of the strongest storms ever approaches the country.
Super Typhoon Haiyan is being called one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever as it had 195 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 235 mph. It's wind strength makes the typhoon the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, CNN reports.
The storm, which is known as Yolanda in the Philippines, is expected to hold its super typhoon status as it makes landfall on the country. By Friday, it is expected to have 149 mph winds when it hits Eastern Visayas.
Typhoon Haiyan is so large that its clouds are affecting two-thirds of the country. More than 3,800 were evacuated to shelters by Thursday. Many of those live in Tacloban City, which is on the coast of the island on Leyte, where more than 200,000 live.
President Benigno S. Aquino III gave a speech warning residents of the storm and advising them to take it seriously. "This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," he said according to CNN.
There are three government C-130 cargo aircraft ready to respond and 32 airforce planes and helicopters.
The high winds and rain of Typhoon Haiyan are expected to affect millions of people. It had a 500-mile diameter by Thursday afternoon. More than 30 provinces have been told to prepare for floods and landslides. School has been cancelled, airlines have cancelled flights and emergency services are on high alert.
Those in the Philippine island of Bohol are particularly worried as the island was just hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake last month. The earthquake killed 222 people, injured close to 1,000 and left 350,000 displaced.
Those staying at the popular beach resort of Boracay are also worried. Many cut their vacation short and tried to get flights out early.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
