Yolanda Update - the extent of the damage left by the typhoon might be still unclear as of now, but one thing is for sure about Haiyan - it was one of the strongest storms in the history of mankind.

According to Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, Yolanda's tremendous wind strength of 195 mph winds put it in the same category as Super Typhoons Nancy (215 mph winds, 1961), Violet (205 mph, 1961) and Ida (1958, 200 mph), becoming the fourth strongest storm ever recorded by man.

Masters, the meteorology director of Wunderground, stated the numbers were not precise because no hurricane hunter aircraft was sent to measure Haiyan's top speed and only satellite images were used for the current estimates.

"Haiyan's winds were estimated using only satellite images, making its intensity estimate of lower confidence. We don't have any measurements of Haiyan's central pressure, but it may be close to the all-time record of 870 mb set by Super Typhoon Tip," Masters stated on his blog.

"The Japan Meteorological Agency estimated Haiyan's central pressure at 895 mb at 18 UTC (1 pm EST) November 7, 2013. This would make Haiyan the 12th strongest tropical cyclone on record globally, as far as lowest pressure goes," he added.

According to the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Haiyan (190-195 mph in Guiuan, Samar) made the most intense landfall in world history, surpassing the record by Hurricane Camille (190 mph winds in Mississippi) in 1969. Moreover, Yolanda reportedly generated a gustiness of 379 km per hour.

"Haiyan had winds of 190 - 195 mph at landfall, making it the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history. The previous record was held by the Atlantic's Hurricane Camille of 1969, which made landfall in Mississippi with 190 mph winds," Masters stated.

Landfall Catastrophe

Haiyan made its landfall at around 4:40 a.m local time in Guiuan Samar. The storm was packed with 10-minute sustained winds of 96 mph with a pressure of 997 mb.

With this level of intensity, US experts predicted a catastrophic scenario to those regions directly hit by the typhoon. As early as now, Philippine Red Cross chief Gwendolyn Pang already reported uprooted trees and houses blown away by strong winds.

"We've had reports of uprooted trees, very strong winds and houses made of light materials being damaged," Pang told Agence France-Presse on Friday afternoon via Rappler.

Yolanda displaced more than 125,000 people, most were living along the eastern seaboard of the Philippines. Three casualties were already recorded, but the figures are expected to increase as Yolanda makes it exit on Saturday morning.