The approach of Phailin, among the most powerful historical cyclones in the region, led to the evacuation of close to 1 million people according to CNN.Tropical Cyclone Phailin made landfall in northeastern India on Saturday, but advanced warnings and evacuations may have been what saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
Warnings of Phailin's potential arrival in northeastern India were sounded early this past week.
Reports of fatalities vary, but at this early stage, range upward to over a dozen people. It may be days until all people in the storm's path are accounted for.
An Indian woman returns to the cyclone hit Arjipalli village on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district, Orissa state, India, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. 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. The storm, the strongest to hit India in more than a decade, destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crops, but more than 18 hours after it made landfall in Orissa state, officials said they knew of only nine fatalities. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
While Phailin has weakened into a tropical rainstorm, rainfall from the once-powerful tropical cyclone is finally winding down.
The threat for widespread heavy rain and flooding is over across much of northern India, however some areas remain flooded after days of torrential downpours.
The storm has damaged or flooded many homes and other structures. Phailin displaced hundreds of thousands of people since making landfall in northeast India on Saturday.
In the wake of Phailin, efforts will now switch to recovery and aid.
A relief effort was underway early on Sunday, local time, as the military and relief workers began to make their way throughout the region in helicopters and trucks, Reuters reported.
People hold each others' hands and cross a water logged road as they return to their respective villages near Gopalpur, Orissa state, India, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. India began sorting through miles of wreckage on 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. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Even though Phailin weakened slightly prior to landfall, destructive winds well over 160 kph (100 mph) and flooding rain of at least 200 mm (8 inches) pummeled the region. A crippling storm surge of at least 3 meters (10 feet) is expected to have swamped the coast near and just northeast of the point of landfall.
The India Meteorological Department confirmed that Phailin made landfall over Gopalpur on Saturday evening with winds over 200 kph (125 mph). Phailin reached peak intensity Friday night into Saturday when the storm was the equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane or super typhoon,
Storms of this magnitude over the past couple of hundred years have often taken the lives of tens of thousands of people.
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