Mass evacuations as India cyclone 'could be strongest storm ever'

The strongest cyclone to threaten India in more than a decade is approaching its east coast as authorities drove tens of thousands of villagers from their coastal homes to government shelters inland.

A massive cyclone is hammering India’s eastern coastline with heavy rains and destructive winds, as hundreds of thousands of people living in the region moved inland and took shelter, hoping to ride out the dangerous storm.

Roads were all but empty as high waves lashed the coastline of Orissa state, which will bear the brunt of Cyclone Phailin.