Terrifying footage shows a 130mph cyclone slamming into India today in a ferocious storm which has forced more than a million people to flee their homes.
Cyclone Fani ripped into the country's east coast on Friday morning, tearing down trees, blowing away food stands and cutting off power and water.
Experts fear rising sea levels could cause a five-foot storm surge in Odisha, where the storm made landfall today and where 10,000 people died in a 1999 storm.
It is expected to barrel into West Bengal state and towards Bangladesh on a trajectory which will take it over the homes of 100million people.
Ferocious: Trees bend in the huge winds of Cyclone Fani as rain batters an abandoned home on the outskirts of Puri, after the storm made landfall on India's east coast this morning
Footage shows trees bending violently in the wind and debris flying across roads as people struggled to stay upright.
Wind and rain were seen lashing into abandoned homes while street stands had completely toppled over.
Some 3,000 shelters in schools and government buildings have been set up to accommodate more than a million people in Odisha.
Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent six warships to the region while India's biggest oil and gas producer ONGC evacuated almost 500 workers from offshore rigs.
Meteorologists have warned of the 'total destruction' of thatched houses, the uprooting of power and communication poles.
They also predicted the 'flooding of escape routes' and damage to crops in some areas.
Measures were also being taken to protect the eight-and-a-half-century old Jagannath temple in the city.
Desolate: A motorcyclist braves gusty winds just before the landfall of cyclone Fani, which could reach 125mph winds, on the outskirts of Puri
Collapsed: A street stand is toppled over in the winds as Indian authorities evacuate the homes of more than a million people amid the storm
Devastation: Street shops are seen collapsed while trees are blown ferociously in the winds of Cyclone Fani
The storm made landfall in Hindu holy town of Puri, a major tourist destination on the coast that attracts millions of visitors every year.
More than 100,000 dry food packets are ready to be dropped if needed, reports said.
Flights have been cancelled in and out of Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar and Kolkata in West Bengal until at least Saturday.
