(Bloomberg) -- Chuck Self got into the investment business 36years ago, but he’s never seen markets like this.

“This kind of thing happens once in a lifetime,” said Self, thechief investment officer of iSectors LLC, an Appleton,Wisconsin-based asset manager. “Most people will be feelingpain.”

Related: Yellen says Brexit vote influenced Fedcall to hold rates steady

As the U.K.’s historic vote to leave the European Union joltedmarkets around the world, investors responded with a mix of shock,fear and excitement. The pound and euro both sank the most onrecord, U.S. Treasury yields posted the biggest decline in sevenyears and the yen jumped to an almost two-year high.

“Panic is palpable,” said John Gorman, the Tokyo-based head ofU.S. debt trading for Asia and the Pacific at Nomura Holdings Inc.,one of the 23 primary dealers that underwrite America’s sovereignbonds.

The referendum’s result came as a surprise to both financial andbetting markets, which had been positioning for a “Remain” voteleading up to the poll. Traders from the U.S. to Europe and Asiaworked through their nights and early mornings to react to theresults, facing thin volumes and big price swings as counts fromaround the U.K. poured in.

“The market is extremely illiquid, extremely volatile,” RichardBenson, managing director and co-head of portfolio investment inLondon at Millennium Global Investments, which oversees about $16billion. “This is a shock.” He came into the office around midnightlocal time, when Sunderland in northeast England voted 61percent to leave, a result that triggered the U.K. currency’sdownward spiral.

The selloff takes its place among some of history’s worst marketmeltdowns, reminding traders of the global equity crash of Aug. 24,2015, in which $2.7 trillion was wiped out in 24 hours, and therush to the exits that marked some days during the global financialcrisis in 2008.

Sterling plunged to the weakest level since 1985 and the eurosuffered its biggest intraday drop since it was introduced in 1999.South Africa’s rand led losses among currencies ofcommodity-exporting nations as oil slid and industrial metalsslumped.

Gold soared as investors piled into haven assets, while globalequities sank. Money markets also convulsed, with one measure ofstress reaching the most extreme level since 2012. Central banksacross the world pledged to take action as needed to avert anybreakdown in financial-market liquidity.

“All hell is breaking loose,” said Vishnu Varathan, a senioreconomist in Singapore at Mizuho Bank Ltd. “The only surefire isyou buy yen, you buy U.S. Treasuries, you buy gold, and you sittight.”

Here’s what other traders, investors and analysts aresaying:

Alan Richardson at Samsung Asset Management in HongKong:

“I’m doing nothing. I’m paralyzed in fear, curled up fingers andtoes like in a horror movie.”

David Bloom at HSBC Holdings in London:

“There are certain days you never forget and this will be one ofthem. Everyone is all over the place, it’s been a rollercoaster.”

James Butterfill at ETF Securities inLondon:

“It’s scary, and I’ve never seen anything like it. We’re goingto see outflows from basically any kind of cyclical asset. A lot ofpeople were caught out, and many investors will lose a lot ofmoney.”

Alan Ruskin at Deutsche Bank in New York:

“It’s certainly a very crazy event overnight -- and now,unfortunately, you have huge amounts of uncertainty.”

Ang Kok Heng at Phillip Capital in KualaLumpur:

“Fear is normally easier to profit from than greed. This is whatwe are seeing today.”

Nicholas Teo at KGI Fraser Securities inSingapore:

“I can’t leave the market alone. This is the event risk of theyear. Central banks will probably pump liquidity into the marketsgiven the spike in volatility. The biggest fear among investors isthe contagion that a Brexit win will have across Europe.”

Hiroaki Hiwada at Toyo Securities in Tokyo:

“Things have gone wild. I’ve never seen a market like thisbefore."

Tim Condon at ING Groep in Singapore:

“Everybody is just watching and trying to absorb what’shappening. A lot of people have been caught off guard. Centralbanks will probably prevent any sort of liquidity issues.”

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.