Typhoon Haiyan, easily the strongest storm to occur this year, has slammed into the Philippines' central islands, causing millions of people to leave their homes for to safer ground and storm shelters.
The storm has also cut power and phone lines, and halted air and sea transportation, according to Reuters.
The maximum category-five super typhoon, with winds reach 170 mph, created giant waves as high as 12 to 15 feet.
"We are fearful because there is talk that the sea will rise," an elementary school teacher in Southern Leyte province, who only gave her name as Feliza, said a local radio station, according to Reuters. "We can feel the powerful winds, our school is now packed with evacuees. Trees in coastal areas have already fallen."
The state weather bureau confirmed that Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, will exit the Philippines on Saturday and then move into the South China Sea.
Click here to track the storm.
Approximately a million people have gone to sheltered areas in more at least 20 provinces, after Philippine President Benigno Aquino spoke to people in the storm's path to evacuate danger locations, like coastal villages and mountain slopes.
Haiyan is predicted to move north of the Philippine's second largest city Cebu, an area that is home to around 2.5 million people.
Ferry services, commuter buses and fishing boats have been grounded by authorities, and nearly 200 local flights have been suspended, according to Reuters.
All Schools, shops, and offices in central Philippines have been closed, though hospitals, soldiers and emergency workers are on standby for rescue missions.
Around 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, according to Reuters. Back in 2011, typhoon Washi killed 1,200 people and destroyed over 10,000 homes.
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