Cyclone Vayu batters fishing hub but veers away from Indian coast

VERAVAL, India - A "very severe" cyclone in the Arabian Sea battered an Indian fishing hub with heavy wind, wave and rain on Thursday and was forecast to still bring dangerous weather, even as it veered away from the western coast.

The India Meteorological Department said Cyclone Vayu, the season's second major storm and named after the Hindi word for "wind", has jogged west, skirting the coast of the state of Gujarat. It is unlikely to hit the state head on as previously forecast. Pakistan warned of rough seas and dangerous heat, though the cyclone wasn't expected to directly hit the port city of Karachi.

In anticipation of the storm, rescue workers evacuated nearly 300,000 people, taking a cue from Cyclone Fani, which came ashore on India's eastern coast in May, killing 34 people in India and 15 in neighboring Bangladesh.