Hell on earth.
Typhoon Washi hits the Philippines ..
250 confirmed dead.
400 missing.
The death toll is sure to rise, according to officials, who are recovering from the blast from the typhoon.
When Washi swept in, it immediately caused drenching heavy rains, flash floods, mudslides, and power loss to thousands of homes. The hardest hit areas according to fresh reports from the Philippines were the cities of Illigan and Cagayan de Oro.
Reports from the Philippines also speak of harrowing rescues, villages washed in to the sea, and muddy ugly water rushing through streets, picking up with it any pieces of debris available to go for the ride.
The government mobilized 20,000 soldiers in the nation for relief operations. The port cities struck with the most hell will be seeing the most troops--the reports seem to suggest that those cities are practically decimated with water and wind damage.
Tropical systems are not stranger to the Philippines. The nation typically gets hit with up to 20 storms a year. However, this storm seemed to be hit with extra strength. NASA saw the tropical system's winds and rains to be intense over a larger area.
Washi wasn't done yet. After it leaves the nation of the Philippines behind to deal with destruction, it's into the Sulu Sea where meteorologists say it will intensify again before it strikes Vietnam.