Cyclone Arnab caused widespread disruption across coastal Andhra Pradesh, uprooting trees and electric poles, washing away a coastal road and damaging a bridge, but no loss of life had been reported so far, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Wednesday. More than 10,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas, while 495 cyclone shelters and temporary relief centres were set up across affected areas.
Naidu said advance precautionary measures by the state administration had helped prevent casualties. Speaking during a teleconference with 32,000 personnel, including district collectors, he directed officials to minimise property damage, restore essential services and return affected areas to normalcy at the earliest.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to clear roads blocked by fallen trees within two hours and remove trees obstructing national highways immediately. He also directed departments to restore electricity after strong winds subsided, provide food, drinking water and medical facilities at cyclone shelters, and prevent water from entering agricultural fields.
Officials were asked to protect horticultural crops, prevent breaches in tanks and canals, prepare preliminary estimates of crop damage and keep National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel on standby. Naidu also directed authorities to use the Manamitra grievance system and inform residents about action taken on their complaints.
Kakinada was among the affected districts. Superintendent of Police G Bindu Madhav said the cyclone uprooted a few hundred trees and fewer than 100 electric poles. Rainfall subsided after 1 am, but the Uppada road along the coast was completely washed away. Residents had been evacuated to relief camps as strong winds and the sound of the storm intensified between midnight and 1 am.
In Alluri Sitaramaraju district, Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar said trees and electric poles had been uprooted and some roads inundated. An old bridge in Tadiguda village in Anantagiri mandal was washed away, isolating a hamlet. Alternative arrangements were being made while restoration work was under way. No loss of life or major damage to infrastructure, houses or livestock had been reported in the district as of 9 am, he said, while cautioning that water levels could rise if rainfall continued.
Konaseema district recorded gusty winds of up to 130 kmph, according to Superintendent of Police Rahul Meena. Fallen trees and electric poles blocked roads and disrupted power supply, with interior roads expected to take until the evening to clear. Electricity connections and major highways were expected to be restored within a few hours and two to three hours respectively, while wind speeds had reduced as the cyclone moved towards Kakinada after weakening slightly.
Two NDRF teams and two SDRF teams had been deployed a day before the cyclone for road clearance and rescue operations. Additional Andhra Pradesh Special Police platoons and personnel from several departments were also working on restoring transport and power links. Officials were expected to continue monitoring rainfall, water levels, crop damage and infrastructure conditions as relief and clearance operations proceeded.
