[wannabegeek]

The Philippine article you read said that wind gusts were clocked well into Cat V territory at one point?

AP probably is super exaggerated, "sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 270 kph (168 mph)?"

PhilStar says,

The typhoon Odette has further intensified with maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour near the center, gustiness of up to 205 kph, and a central pressure of 945 hectoPascals.

Odette is heading westward at 25 kph and is forecast to maintain its strength while moving over the West Philippine Sea. 

165 KPH not 165 MPH!

That's not cyclone yet.

[steve86]

What's your motivation for trying to minimize this when there are 18 dead in my gf's family's vicinity?

The entire province of Cebu is under a state of calamity due to Odette, a Category 5 – Super Typhoon, that made landfall in Carcar City last Thursday, December 16. Odette was the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.