Yes! Your word expedition starts here.

maelstrom

a powerful whirlpool, such as the famous one of that name off the coast of Norway;
used figuratively for any turbulent or violent situation

Sightings:

The stuff of fables

Infamous and generic
(follow the "Visit Site" link>

Charybdis of the north

Tourism for the adventurous

Nervous agitation brought on by ungovernable fury

The very picture of instability

Tony Blair's troubles

Albanians in Greece

Caught in the social vortex

Jazzed on jazz

Issues in Alaska native education

The warzone formerly known as Yugoslavia

.