Odisha Evacuates Over 30,000 People As Cyclone Arnab Triggers Alert In Southern Districts

The Odisha government has evacuated over 30,000 people to safety, with the entire southern region of the state remaining on high alert on Wednesday after the landfall process of very severe cyclonic storm Arnab was completed along the Andhra Pradesh-Yanam coast, a minister said.

Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the state expects the cyclone to affect all southern districts, with Malkangiri likely to be the worst hit.

"The cyclone is presently within Andhra Pradesh, and it will later in the afternoon touch Odisha," Pujari said, adding that personnel and equipment had been mobilised at vulnerable locations and evacuation was continuing.

The government’s focus is on Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts, where people from low-lying and landslide-prone areas are being shifted to shelters, he said.

Schools and anganwadi in 16 of the state's 30 districts remained closed for the day.

As many as 2,037 cyclone shelters have been kept ready, with arrangements for food, drinking water and other essential facilities.

The administrations in Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Nuapada districts are also on alert, the minister said.

The government has received reports of trees being uprooted in some southern districts, but there has been no report of major damage or casualties so far, Pujari said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclone crossed the Andhra Pradesh-Yanam coast between 2 am and 8 am as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph.

"The latest observations indicate that the landfall process has been completed with the central region moving completely into land," the IMD said in its latest bulletin.

The system weakened into a severe cyclonic storm at 8.30 am, with wind speeds dropping to 110-120 kmph, the weather agency said.

It is likely to move north-northwestwards over the next 48 hours and weaken gradually.

The system is expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm within six hours and further into a deep depression over the subsequent six hours, the IMD said.

The weather agency has forecast that the system will move across parts of southern Odisha before tracking northwest towards Chhattisgarh.

Its outer bands have already triggered continuous rainfall and strong winds in Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam districts.

Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, director Manorama Mohanty said wind speeds could range between 60 and 70 kmph, with gusts reaching 80 kmph, as the system moves inland.

The IMD has issued red alert (rainfall above 20 cm and winds at 60 kmph) for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati and Kalahandi districts.

Administrations in hilly areas have been cautioned about possible localised landslides due to continuous rainfall.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall, accompanied by winds of 40-60 kmph, is also expected in Bargarh, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kandhamal, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh districts.

An orange alert has been issued for Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Bargarh districts for October 29, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall and gusty winds.

Pujari said 313 response teams had been deployed at identified vulnerable locations.

These include 60 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams, nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 244 Fire and Emergency Services teams.

All 19,143 fishing boats have returned to shore, while preventive measures, including temporary road closures, have been implemented in vulnerable landslide-prone areas, he said.

"Achieving zero casualties is our primary motto," the minister added.