Odisha evacuated 48,010 people, shifted 3,900 pregnant women to hospitals and cancelled around 20 trains as very severe cyclonic storm Arnab approached the Andhra Pradesh coast, with the India Meteorological Department warning of extremely heavy rain and strong winds in several southern districts.
The cyclone had already caused one death in Puri district’s Astaranga block, where 40-year-old Lobhavati Muduli was killed after a tree fell on her house and brought down a brick wall while she was cooking during heavy rain and strong winds.
Special relief commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said residents from vulnerable areas in eight southern Odisha districts had been moved to 466 shelters. “Their evacuation is largely complete. Since the situation is dynamic, if needed more may be evacuated,” Patil told The Times of India.
The evacuations included 11,270 people in Nabarangpur, 11,000 in Gajapati, 9,850 in Malkangiri, 6,500 in Ganjam, 5,000 in Koraput, 2,415 in Kalahandi, 1,675 in Nuapada and 300 in Rayagada. The state also deployed disaster-response forces, activated round-the-clock control rooms and cancelled leave for officials in affected districts.
IMD Bhubaneswar director Manorama Mohanty said landfall was expected between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, close to and south of Yanam, during the early hours of Wednesday. “Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab is interacting with the land surface, and the outer spiral band has entered the land. Due to faster movement, the landfall of cyclone is expected early. It is likely to make landfall between 2am and 4am on Oct 28. There is no change in prediction of path and intensity,” she said.
The weather system brought intermittent rain to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Puri and Berhampur, while waterlogging was reported on Puri’s Grand Road and in low-lying areas of the pilgrim town. Flight operations from Bhubaneswar were largely unaffected, although a nine-seater aircraft travelling from Utkela in Kalahandi to Bhubaneswar was diverted because of afternoon rain.
The major cancelled trains included the Rourkela-Jagdalpur Express, Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, Visakhapatnam-Koraput Express and Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar Express. Schools and other educational institutions were ordered shut in Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kalahandi, Puri and Nuapada on Wednesday. Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri had already ordered schools and anganwadi centres to remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday.
The state placed Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi on special alert. The IMD issued a red warning for Gajapati and Ganjam on Wednesday, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm at isolated locations. The red warning was extended to Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri for Thursday.
Gusty winds of 50-60 kmph, with gusts reaching 70 kmph at isolated places, were forecast for Koraput and Malkangiri on Wednesday. Similar conditions were expected across Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput and Malkangiri on Thursday. Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari directed district administrations to maintain shelters and ensure essential services remain available as Odisha pursued a zero-casualty response.
