This document discusses Typhoon Haiyan, which was ravaging the Philippine Islands. It provides background information on typhoons, explaining that they are similar to hurricanes in that they are both tropical cyclones. The key differences are that hurricanes occur in the Atlantic and impact the US, while typhoons occur in the western Pacific and can happen any time of year. Typhoon Haiyan is classified as a Category 5 storm, the strongest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale used to rate hurricanes.