\MAYL-strum\, noun: 1 A large, powerful, or violent whirlpool 2 Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs; as, a maelstrom of vice
If you describe a situation as a maelstrom, you mean that it is very confused or violent. the maelstrom of ethnic hatreds and vendetta politics Inside, she was a maelstrom of churning emotions