Morning light revealed damage from Tropical Cyclone Phailin after it pounded the eastern coast, the strongest storm in India in 14 years.
Debris littered wet streets. Buildings had gaping holes where roofs and windows had been.
In Odisha state, where the cyclone landed, at least 13 people were killed after trees fell and walls collapsed when the storm hit, Police Chief Prakash Mishra said. Another death was confirmed in Andhra Pradesh state, India's disaster management authority said.
Many had feared the death toll would be higher. Massive evacuation efforts helped limit the number of casualties, officials said.
"It is a huge, huge relief," Naveen Patnaik, Odisha's chief minister, told CNN sister network CNN-IBN. "Damage has been minimal."
But in the hardest hit areas, the storm's impact was clear, with flooded highways, fallen trees and downed power lines.
As a precautionary measure, authorities cut the electricity in the affected districts. It could take up to a week to restore power, authorities said.
Like a fierce hurricane
Hurricanes are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
At 140 mph wind speed, Phailin made landfall as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. The strongest hurricane is a Category 5, which comes with winds greater than 155 mph.
By Sunday, some 13 hours later, it was the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane with winds of about 80 mph.
Where have all the hurricanes gone?
'Zero-casualty approach'
India evacuated nearly a million people before the storm to avoid a repeat of what happened in 1999, when a cyclone killed 10,000 people.
"We have taken a zero-casualty approach," said Kamal Lochan Mishra, Odisha state's disaster manager. "If people do not move, force will be used to evacuate them."
Phailin has brought nearly 8 inches of rain to Odisha's capital of Bhubaneswar, about 30 miles from the coast. The city's average rainfall for October is 6.5 inches.
The storm will continue to fall apart as it moves over land, but tropical storm-force winds are still possible through early Monday, said CNN meteorologist Judson Jones. Rainfall will also be a problem as Phailin moves up toward the Himalayas in Nepal.
Multiple states in the region were under weather warnings for excessive rainfall and thunderstorms.
Hundreds of emergency shelters
About 900,000 were evacuated in Odisha alone. Most people in low-lying coastal areas of the state left on foot or by bicycle, Kamal Lochan Mishra said.
Relocating evacuees is a major challenge because of property damage and losses caused by the storm, said Patnaik.
Most are housed in nearly 250 emergency shelters set up in sturdy buildings like schools and government offices.
The India Meteorological Department warned of extensive damage to houses made of flimsy materials like mud and bamboo, as well as damage to old buildings.
The storm disrupted power and communication lines. Extensive flooding also affected rail and road traffic, and crops are likely to suffer major damage, the agency said.
In Gopalpur, a coastal resort town in Ganjam, restaurants were shuttered and streets deserted. Tourists and local residents left the town.
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