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* Nearly 400,000 people flee to storm shelters
* Storm verges on becoming a "supercyclone"; could affect 12mln people
* Operations at key eastern port halted; major gas fieldseen spared
By Sruthi Gottipati and Jatindra Dash
ICHAPURAM/BHUBANESWAR, India, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Rain andwind lashed India's east coast and nearly 400,000 people fled tostorm shelters after authorities issued a red alert and warnedof major damage when one of the largest cyclones the country hasever seen hits land later on Saturday.
Filling most of the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Phailin was about300 km (187 miles) offshore on Saturday morning, satelliteimages showed, and was expected to reach land by nightfall.
The storm verged on becoming a "super cyclone" and wasexpected to affect 12 million people, officials said.
Muslims and Hindus gathered at mosques and temples in Odishastate, praying Phailin would not be as devastating as a similarstorm that killed 10,000 people 14 years ago. Heavy rain poundedcoastal villages in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Phailin was packing winds of at least 220 kph (137 mph) andwas expected to cause a 3.4-m (11-foot) surge in sea levels whenit hit the coast, the India Meteorological Department said in astatement.
"The storm has high damage potential, consideringwindspeed," Lakshman Singh Rathore, head of the weatherdepartment, said on Friday.
Families trekked through the rain to shelters, televisionimages showed, as gusts of wind snapped branches from trees.Tourists left Puri, a popular beach resort. Officials broadcastcyclone warnings through loudspeakers, radio and television.
"The wind speed is picking up," said Odisha's Special ReliefCommissioner, Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra. "Some people were earlierreluctant to move. They are willing now."
In nearby Andhra Pradesh, heavy rain and strong windspummelled a coastal highway, and left lush green fields soddenwith water.
"We are ready to evacuate," said wiry-haired Jagdesh Dasari,35, chief of the fishing village of Mogadhalupadu, which has2,500 residents, as the rain poured down.
"If the waves come higher, the whole place will vanish."
London-based Tropical Storm Risk said the storm was alreadyin that category, and classed it as a Category 5 storm - thestrongest. The U.S. Navy's weather service said wind at sea wasgusting at 314 kph.
Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to hurricane Katrina, which tore through the U.S. Gulf coast andNew Orleans in 2005.
It also evoked memories of an Indian storm in 1999, whenwinds reaching speeds of 300 kph battered Odisha for 30 hours.
This time, however, the Odisha government said it was betterprepared. Half a million people are expected to shelter inschools and other strong buildings when the storm hits,officials said. At least 60,000 people left their homes in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Friday.
Authorities warned of extensive damage to crops, villagedwellings and old buildings, as well as disruption of power,water and rail services. Shelters were being stocked withrations, and leave for government employees was cancelled.
A police official said a rescue effort was launched for 18fishermen stranded four nautical miles at sea from Paradip, amajor port in Odisha, after their trawler ran out of fuel.
Paradip halted cargo operations on Friday. All vessels wereordered to leave the port, which handles coal, crude oil andiron ore. An oil tanker holding about 2 million barrels of oil,worth $220 million, was also moved, an oil company source said.
But the storm was not expected to hit India's largest gasfield, the D6 natural gas block in the Cauvery Basin furtherdown the east coast, field operator Reliance Industries said.
Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf coast on Aug. 29, 2005, killingabout 1,800 people, including many in New Orleans where leveesfailed to hold back storm surges.
It was one of the six biggest hurricanes - also known ascyclones and typhoons - ever recorded and caused damage ofaround $75 billion.
