A woman returns to the cyclone hit Arjipalli village on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district, as India began sorting through miles of wreckage Sunday after Cyclone Phailin roared ashore, flooding towns and villages and destroying tens of thousands of thatch homes, but officials said massive evacuation efforts had spared the east coast from widespread loss of life. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/Associated Press)

An Indian villager braving strong winds and rain walk to a safer place, in village Podampeta, in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. Strong winds and heavy rains pounded India's eastern coastline Saturday, as hundreds of thousands of people took shelter from a massive, powerful Cyclone Phailin expected to reach land in a few hours. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

A woman waits to board a boat as she returns to her village after Cyclone Phailin hit Sunapur village in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, on Oktober 13, 2013. Cyclone Phailin was expected to dissipate within 36 hours, losing momentum as it headed inland after making landfall on Saturday from the Bay of Bengal, bringing winds of more than 125 mph. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Indian people watch high tide waves as they stand at the Bay of Bengal coast in Vishakhapatnam, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people living along India's eastern coastline were taking shelter Saturday from a massive, powerful cyclone Phailin that was set to reach land packing destructive winds and heavy rains. (Photo by AP Photo)

A man carrying his belongings walks towards a safer place at the village Donkuru in Srikakulam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh October 12, 2013. Rain and wind lashed India's east coast on Saturday, forcing more than 400,000 people to flee to storm shelters as one of the country's largest cyclones closed in, threatening to cut a wide swathe of devastation through farmland and fishing hamlets. Filling most of the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Phailin was about 200 km (124 miles) offshore by noon on Saturday, satellite images showed, and was expected to hit land by nightfall. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

An Indian rickshaw puller carries people to a cyclone shelter near Chatrapur in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Indian villagers braving strong winds and rain reach for a cyclone center, in village Podampeta, in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. Strong winds and heavy rains pounded India's eastern coastline Saturday, as hundreds of thousands of people took shelter from a massive, powerful Cyclone Phailin expected to reach land in a few hours. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Indian residents make their way home through heavy cyclone rain in Berhampur city, about 180 kilometers south from eastern city Bhubaneswar on October 12, 2013. Nearly half a million people have been evacuated from India's impoverished east coast ahead of a massive cyclone expected to make landfall on October 12 evening, disaster officials said. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

Indian residents rest in a cyclone shelter near Gopalpur, about 190 kms from the eastern city Bhubaneswar on October 11, 2013. India issued a red alert as a massive cyclone bore down on the east coast October 12 forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, officials said. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

Indian evacuees travel in an auto rickshaw as they leave their village towards a safe place through heavy wind and rain in Sanabandha Village near Gopalpur, about 195 south from eastern city Bhubaneswar on October 12, 2013. Nearly half a million people have been evacuated from India's impoverished east coast ahead of a massive cyclone expected to make landfall on October 12 evening, disaster officials said. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

Indian evacuees travel in an auto rickshaw as they leave their village towards a safe place through heavy wind and rain in Sanabandha Village near Gopalpur, about 195 south from eastern city Bhubaneswar on October 12, 2013. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

Evacuated Indian villagers eat food at a temporary cyclone shelter in Chatrapur in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

An Indian man holds an umbrella as he heads towards a cyclone shelter near Chatrapur in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Waves crash onto the shore at a fishing harbour in Visakhapatnam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh October 12, 2013. Rain and wind lashed India's east coast on Saturday, forcing more than 400,000 people to flee to storm shelters as one of the country's largest cyclones closed in, threatening to cut a wide swathe of devastation through farmland and fishing hamlets. Filling most of the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Phailin was about 200 km (124 miles) offshore by noon on Saturday, satellite images showed, and was expected to hit land by nightfall. (Photo by R Narendra/Reuters)

Evacuated Indian villagers get down from a truck at a relief camp as it rains near Berhampur, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

Indian men with their bicycles make way through uprooted trees fallen during Cyclone Phailin on a road in Berhampur, India, Sunday, October 13, 2013. An immense, powerful cyclone that lashed the Indian coast, forcing 500,000 people to evacuate and causing widespread damage, weakened Sunday after making landfall. Several people died in the rains that fell ahead of the storm, most killed by falling branches, Indian media reported, but the situation on the ground in many areas was still unclear after Cyclone Phailin slammed into the coast Saturday evening in Orissa state, where power and communications lines were down along much of the coastline. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

Villagers hold umbrellas as they walk towards a cyclone shelter in their village near Chatrapur in Ganjam district, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

An Indian couple drives towards a cyclone center, in village Podampeta, in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Evacuated Indian villagers watch strong winds and rain as they eat food in a temporary cyclone shelter in Chatrapur, in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Motorcyclist drives past fallen trees during heavy rain and winds near Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

High tide waves approach the Bay of Bengal coast near Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

An Indian woman holds an umbrella as she heads towards a cyclone shelter near Chatrapur in Ganjam district about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the eastern Indian city Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Evacuated Indian villagers get down from a truck at a relief camp as it rains near Berhampur, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A younh Indian boy reaches a relief camp after being evacuated as it rains near Berhampur, India, Saturday, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A girl looks out from the window of a bus travelling towards a relief camp in Donkuru village in Srikakulam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh October 12, 2013. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

A girl runs for shelter in heavy rain brought by Cyclone Phailin in Ichapuram town in Srikakulam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh October 12, 2013. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

A man tries to avoid a broken electricity cable as he rides on an auto rickshaw to a safer place in Ichapuram town in Srikakulam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh October 12, 2013. Rain and wind lashed India's east coast on Saturday, forcing more than 400,000 people to flee to storm shelters as one of the country's largest cyclones closed in, threatening to cut a wide swathe of devastation through farmland and fishing hamlets. Filling most of the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Phailin was about 200 km (124 miles) offshore by noon on Saturday, satellite images showed, and was expected to hit land by nightfall. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Indian truck driver Jairam Yadav speaks on his mobile phone after his truck carrying Toyota cars was overturned by strong wind on the National Highway linking Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on October 13, 2013. (Photo by AFP Photo/YAYANA)