Update: Super Typhoon Haiyan, World's Strongest Storm in 2013, Makes Landfall [VIDEO]

Super typhoon Haiyan is possibly the strongest tropical cyclone that has ever landed on earth, with sustained winds of 195 mph and gusts as intense as 235 mph. "It is perhaps the greatest wind damage any city on Earth has endured from a tropical cyclone in the past century," according to Jeff Masters, the director of meteorology at US-based Weather Underground. The previous strongest typhoon to make landfall happened in Mississippi, U.S. with winds of 190 mph.

There are about 25 million people affected, with evacuation of tens of thousands in vulnerable areas of central Philippines. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the super typhoon is exceptionally as strong as a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of over 150 mph for at least a minute. The storm has a large diameter, affecting two-thirds of the Philippines as it stretches over 1,150 miles.

According to the Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, a woman in Cebu died when she was hit by a falling coconut tree. A one-year-old infant and another person were also hit by tornado debris in Cotabato province.

As Haiyan moves with torrential rain and high winds, schools in many areas were canceled while emergency services were on high alert. The most vulnerable however are the people living in makeshift shelters on the Philippine island of Bohol.

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake has just hit Bohol in October and the typhoon's predicted path lies close to it. The earthquake left at least 222 people killed with nearly 1,000 injured and 350,000 people displaced.

The typhoon's predicted trajectory is also close to the country's popular beach, Boracay. There has been urgency and panic as people waited for boats to get off the island on Thursday.

Situated near the Pacific Ocean where tropical cyclones form, the Philippines suffers severe typhoon damage every year. An average of 20 storms hit the archipelagic country each year and several of those cause terrible damage. In December 2012, Typhoon Bopha wreaked devastation on Mindanao, Southern part of the Philippines. It was the strongest to hit the country in 2012 and an estimate of 1,900 have been killed.