Cyclone Fani has made landfall on India's eastern coast today (May 3) prompting mass evacuations.

Footage shows heavy rain and strong winds battering trees and houses in the coastal city of Puri in the state of Odisha.

Nihar Ranjan Panda, resident of Puri, said: ''This is for the first time we are experiencing such a cyclone. I pray to Lord Jagannath to save Puri.’'

Subhendu Mallik, founder of Snake Helpline said: ''Bhubaneswar is 60 km far from Puri but we have thousands of trees broken and roads have been destroyed. And it is only starting.’'

Fani is the biggest storm to hit the area since 1999 when a cyclone killed thousands and devastated most parts of Odisha.

India has evacuated around 10 lakh persons - the largest in its history - extremely severe cyclone Fani made a landfall at 8.10 am on May 3 at Odisha coastal town of Puri.

More than 100 million people in ten thousand villages and 52 towns and cities are in the path of the devastating cyclone.

Multiple Government agencies were pressed into service to facilitate evacuation in such a mass scale from the vulnerable districts.

Heavy downpour and squall accompanied by wind speed touching 175 kilometres per hour snapped tree branches, hoardings and electric lines.

The sea surged to about 1.5 meter height above astronomical tide.

First person accounts:

Kailash Mallik, of Behereda Village, Puri: "Many of our coconut trees snapped due to heavy wind. We are safe but the extent of damage can only be assessed only after the cyclone is over."

Nihar Ranjan Panda, a resident of Puri: "This is for the first time we are experiencing such a cyclone. I pray to Lord Jagannath to save Puri."

Subhendu Mallik, founder of Snake Helpline: “Bhubaneswar is 60 km far from Puri but we have thousands of trees broken and roads have been destroyed. And it is only starting.”