Cyclone Phailin approaching the Indian coast. Image courtesy of NASA
440,000 people have evacuated their homes in north-eastern India, as Cyclone Phailin approaches the coast of Andhra Pradesh.
People have moved inland from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and taken shelter in schools and other centres to wait out the storm, which is expected to reach in the coming hours. Cattle have also been evacuated inland.
The storm stretches for around 1000km from north to south, and as it moves inland it is expected to bring more than 350mm of rain, 260km/h winds, and a major storm surge of at least 3m on this low-lying area of India.
The storm is expected to reach land near the city of Gopalpur in Orissa state.
Fears that crops and infrastructure will be destroyed has resulted in some panic buying of food and water, with people stockpiling emergency supplies.
