Err bit windy in the Pacific 175 mph sustained gusting to 210 mph.

[TQA]

Super Typhoon Hagupit has exploded into mighty Category 5 storm with 175 mph winds and a central pressure of 905 mb, and is threatening the same portion of the Philippine Islands devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. The spiral bands of the massive storm are already bringing gusty winds and heavy rain showers to Samar and Leyte Islands, which bore the brunt of Haiyan’s massive storm surge and incredible winds--rated at 190 mph at landfall on November 7, 2013 by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Haiyan killed over 7,000 people in the Philippines, with Tacloban (population 200,000) suffering the greatest casualties, thanks to a 20+’ storm surge. Thousands of people still live in tents in Tacloban in the wake of Haiyan, and mass evacuations have begun to get these vulnerable people to safety.

That is some scary stuff.

 

[LittleSister]

Blimey! Poor souls.

 

[Ravi]

I know!
I am in Greece and when a big storm struck, I trussed my boat and fled my bucking uncomfortable mooring to flee to the marina bar. I was getting all stressed about the weather and the chafe on my warps and how many more beers I would have to drink before the rain would relent enough for me to get back to my boat, (basically being grumpy and grumbling).
Then the taverna owner summoned me over to the TV to watch the footage of the carnage wreaked by the typhoon in the Philippines. The destruction was incredible. I felt a bit sheepish about complaining about a bit of swell in the marina and a short wet walk.

 

[brokethebox]

http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=132.73,7.13,1024

 

[KellysEye]

I remember those winds speeds hit the British Virgin Islands, from memory it was Hugo in 1989. We arrived about a month later and the damage was awesome.