Strong Cyclone Lashes India; Typhoon Vongfong Hits Japan

A powerful cyclone was pounding a large swath of India’s eastern seaboard with heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday, killing at least six people and causing major damage to buildings and crops, in one of two storms lashing Asia.

People run for shelter as heavy rain and wind gusts rip through the Bay of Bengal coast at Gopalpur, Orissa, about 285 kilometers (178 miles) north east of Visakhapatnam, India, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. Trees were uprooted and power cables snapped as a powerful cyclone swept through the Bay of Bengal and slammed into the southern city of Visakhapatnam, one of two storms pounding Asia on Sunday. AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout

HYDERABAD, India—A powerful cyclone was pounding a large swath of India’s eastern seaboard with heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday, killing at least six people and causing major damage to buildings and crops, in one of two storms lashing Asia.

In Japan, at least 35 people were reported injured as Typhoon Vongfong, packing winds of up to 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour and heavy rain, hit the southern island of Okinawa and was aiming at the island of Kyushu, where authorities told 150,000 people to evacuate.

A man tries to pick up sugar cane fallen by heavy wind and rain as typhoon Vongfong approaches in Yomitan, Okinawa, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. The powerful typhoon poured heavy rains over Japan's southern island of Okinawa and was aiming at the next island of Kyushu on Sunday, becoming the second severe storm to hit in a week. AP Photo/Kyodo News