VISAKHAPATNAM (The Thursday Times) — Very severe cyclonic storm Arnab began crossing India’s Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapur early on Wednesday, bringing winds of up to 150 kilometres an hour, a storm surge of up to 2.5 metres and more than 200 millimetres of rain to parts of Visakhapatnam, as tens of thousands of people sheltered in camps across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
The India Meteorological Department said the landfall process began at around 1.30am near Narsapur in West Godavari district, with sustained winds of 125–135 km/h gusting to 150 km/h, The Hindu reported. Forecasters said it was too early to fix the exact landfall point and that the process could last several hours. The storm had sped up on Tuesday, pulling the expected landfall forward from late morning to the early hours.
Boats lost, houses down
A storm surge of 1.5 to 2.5 metres was forecast for Kakinada and Yanam, threatening low-lying areas. In Uppada, waves threw boulders onto the coastal road and several thatched houses facing the sea collapsed; their residents were already in relief camps. Fishing boats tied to trees in Kakinada were washed into the creek, and the National Disaster Response Force was clearing coconut trees felled across Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. No deaths had been reported in Kakinada, Konaseema or West Godavari by early Wednesday.
Further north, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli were battered by relentless rain. Twelve weather stations in the two districts recorded more than 200mm between Tuesday morning and 1am on Wednesday, with Kannuripalem in Anakapalli measuring 231.5mm, and 188 stations across seven districts logged more than 100mm. Flights and trains were cancelled and the state disaster authority issued heavy-rain and high-wind alerts for eight districts for Wednesday. Indian broadcasters reported that about 90,000 people had been evacuated in Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha on red alert
In neighbouring Odisha, the government moved more than 48,000 people from vulnerable areas into 135 cyclone shelters and 1,600 temporary shelters, the Indian Express reported. Southern districts including Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, Ganjam and Rayagada were under a red warning for very heavy rain and gusts of up to 90 km/h, with teams deployed against possible landslides. “We urge the people not to panic,” said Odisha’s special relief commissioner, Rajesh Patil.
