Cyclone Phailin Batters India's East Coast

A powerful cyclone has torn into India's east coast, killing at least five people and forcing more than half a million into shelters.

Cyclone Phailin was expected to remain a "very severe cyclonic storm", with winds up to 130mph, into the early hours of Sunday as it moves inland in the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Up to 12 million people could be affected by heavy rain and strong winds, according to disaster management officials.

A satellite image of the cyclone

The storm had lost some of its strength before hitting the coast on Saturday, but it remains India's strongest since a typhoon killed 10,000 people in the same region 14 years ago.

Four people were killed by falling trees, while another died when the walls of her home collapsed.

Relief items are packaged for distribution to cyclone evacuees

Electricity has also been cut off in several towns, including Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar.

Cyclone Phailin was also forecast to drive sea levels up 11ft as it neared the coast.

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The evacuation is one of the biggest exercises in the country's history, according to the national disaster agency.

Forecasters have likened its size and intensity to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Residents move to safer ground

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

The predicted path of the cyclone

Authorities have been evacuating villagers along the coast to government-run shelters and schools in three districts of Andhra Pradesh state and five districts of Orissa state.

But many villagers said they had not been told to evacuate, and others were refusing to leave their homes.

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