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KALINGAPATNAM/BHUBANESWAR, India — Tens of thousands fled their homes in coastal areas of eastern India and moved to shelters on Friday, bracing for the fiercest cyclone to threaten the country since a devastating storm killed 10,000 people 14 years ago.

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Large waves were already pounding beaches in the state of Andhra Pradesh over a day before Cyclone Phailin was due to hit. Schools were evacuated as villagers were sent to the north of the state and in neighbouring Odisha, while panic buying drove up food prices.

Satellite images showed Phailin some 500 km off the coast in the Bay of Bengal and likely to make landfall on Saturday evening, with widespread flooding expected from surges.

The images showed the storm covering an area roughly half the size of India. Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to that of hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.