Powerful Cyclone Phailin forces massive evacuations in India

By Mark Magnier

October 12, 2013

NEW DELHI -- India was battered by a massive cyclone Saturday as nearly half a million people evacuated to shelters in vulnerable coastal and low-lying areas amid power outages, large storm surges and canceled trains and flights.

Officials said Cyclone Phailin was expected to affect 12 million people in the eastern states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with the potential to become a “super cyclone,” which occurs when wind speeds exceed 135 miles per hour.

"This is one of the largest evacuations undertaken in India," Shashidhar Reddy, vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, told reporters in the capital, New Delhi. “Our priority is to minimize loss of life.”  the rest