Cyclone Phailin powered its way inland over eastern India this week leaving a swathe of destruction but the loss of life appeared limited after more than half a million people sought safety in storm shelters.
Phailin was the strongest storm to hit India in 14 years. Torn branches littered a road running past destroyed huts and twisted electricity poles along a large stretch of the east coast.
More than half a million people in India spent the night in shelters, some built after a storm killed 10,000 people in 1999. Others took refuge in temples.
Women sit in a school compound after leaving their houses to take shelter from the impact of the approaching Cyclone Phailin, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha
Hindu priests assess the damage to a temple after Cyclone Phailin hit Gopalpur
Women carry pieces of a temporary roof to rebuild their houses after Cyclone Phailin hit Arjyapalli village
Men cross a flooded road after heavy rains caused by Cyclone Phailin at Gaghra village
Villagers sit in an auto rickshaw as they return to their villages after Cyclone Phailin hit Girisola town
A man rides his motorbike past an overturned vehicle after Cyclone Phailin hit Gopalpur
A girl removes debris from her damaged house after Cyclone Phailin hit Puri
Children eat their lunch in a free meal centre at the cyclone-hit Gopalpur village
A shepherd holds an umbrella as he stands on a highway with his flock in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh
