Some people are naming this El Nino "Bruce Lee" or "Godzilla"

NASA oceanographer Bill Patzert said satellite measurements show this El Nino to be currently more powerful than 1997-98, which often is thought of as the king. But that one started weaker and finished stronger, he said.

This El Nino is so strong a NOAA blog unofficially named it the "Bruce Lee" of El Ninos after the late movie action hero. The California-based Patzert, who points out that mudslides and other mayhem happens, compares it to Godzilla.
end partial quote from:
Scientists now think El Nino could be most potent on record
I'm thinking that if the 1997and 8 El Nino was weaker at this point than this one then that is sort of scary to contemplate. Because "Started weaker and then got stronger" is sort of a scary thought because this one is already incredibly strong. What's it going to do next?

Because I lived through the 1972-3 and 1982-3 El Ninos as well as the 1997-8 El Nino in California and all of them at times got pretty scary if you lived on the coast or got flooded out inland or on the coast. I saw several times 2 to 3 feet of water coming off of 3 foot to 4 foot cliffs onto the highway for example. This is a scary thing to drive through with rocks and mud and plants coming across the roads where you are. Or other times the sea would come across roads near the ocean and had to be closed. Luckily, I didn't have to watch homes fall off cliffs because that usually happened in other areas than where I lived or now live.  However, I did go where a 2 lane bridge made of cement was moved by a river at flood stage (tons and tons and tons of cement and iron rebar) was lifted and moved several miles out into the ocean never to be seen again. (This was a completely unbelievable concept even when it happened for almost everyone there).

Also I have seen whole areas of houses flooded up to about 4 feet deep in every single home and Shopping malls under about 1 foot of mud where a restaurant was. And underground garages with a Mercedes floating trunk up(because the engine is heavier and doesn't float.) because the underground garages was filled to the top with water from the river at flood stage.