Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the Philippines are being relocated as the strongest storm on the planet so far this year spins toward the country.

Packing sustained winds of 280 kilometers per hour (174 mph) and gusts as strong as 335 kilometers per hour (208 mph), Super Typhoon Haiyan was churning across the Western Pacific on Thursday toward the central Philippines.

Its wind strength makes it equivalent to a category 5 hurricane.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel stand beside rubber boats to prepare for typhoon Haiyan in Manila on November 6

The storm, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, is expected to still be a super typhoon, with winds in excess of 240 kilometers per hour (149 mph), when it makes landfall Friday morning in the region of Eastern Visayas.

Authorities in the region had moved more than 2,500 people to evacuation centers by early Thursday, the official Philippines News Agency reported, citing local police.

Most of those relocated live in Tacloban City, which sits on the coast of the island of Leyte and has a population of more than 200,000.

(Source: CNN)