BHUBANESWAR: Strong winds and heavy rains pounded India's eastern coastline on Saturday, as hundreds of thousands of people took shelter from a massive, powerful cyclone expected to reach land in a few hours. The skies were dark - almost black - at midmorning in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha and about 60 miles (about 100 kilometres) from the coast. Roaring winds made palm trees sway wildly, and to the south, seawater was pushing inland. By Friday evening, some six lakh people had been moved to higher ground or shelters in Odisha, which is expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone, said Surya Narayan Patro, the state's top disaster management official. About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's landfall, meteorologists held out hope that the storm might hit while in a temporary weakened state, but no matter what it will be large and deadly. Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at Weather Bell, a private US weather firm, said even in the best-case scenario there will be a st...