More than a million Indians flee as cyclone approaches

BALASORE, India: At least 1.1 million people on India´s eastern coast hunkered down in storm shelters ahead of a powerful cyclone set to hammer the low-lying region early on Friday morning.

Cyclone Dana is likely to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha states -- home to around 150 million people -- as a “severe cyclonic storm”, India´s weather bureau said.

It predicts winds gusting up to 120-kms per hour to cause “major damage” to thatch-roofed houses, which are common on the coast.

Major airports have shut overnight, including key travel hub Kolkata, where heavy rain lashed the sprawling megacity.

India´s navy said two ships were “standing by with supplies and rescue and diving teams”. The eye of the storm is predicted to make landfall early Friday (from 1830 GMT Thursday), near the coal-exporting port of Dhamra.