Strongest storm to hit India in a decade kills seven after 600,000 people flee homes and thousands of mud huts are washed away

India was today beginning to sort through miles of wreckage after Cyclone Phailin roared ashore, flooding towns and villages and destroying tens of thousands of homes. But around 18 hours after the strongest storm to hit India in more than a decade made landfall in eastern Orissa state, officials said they knew of only seven fatalities - far less than many feared. Most of the deaths came from falling branches or collapsing buildings in the rains ahead of the cyclone, but it initially appears that the evacuation of more than 600,000 people saved many lives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2457394/Cyclone-Phailin-Strongest-storm-hit-India-decade-kills-seven-600-000-people-flee-homes.html