Monster cyclone smashes India

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest storms to come off the Indian Ocean in years, slammed into India on Friday, sending coconut trees flying, blowing away food stands and cutting off power and water, Agence France-Presse reported.

The monster weather system, which threatened to bring a dangerous storm surge that could flood low-lying areas, was packing winds of up to 205 km/h as it ripped into the east coast, equivalent in strength to a Category 3 to 4 hurricane, The Associated Press reported.

In recent days, authorities in Odisha, where 10,000 people died in a 1999 cyclone, have evacuated more than a million people as they fret about a possible 1.5-meter storm surge sweeping far inland.