Powerful cyclone Arnab hits India’s east coast
Trees crashed onto highways, electricity poles were uprooted, and thousands took shelter against Arnab, a powerful cyclone that made landfall Wednesday on India’s east coast, reports BritPanorama.
More than 180,000 people had been evacuated in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha ahead of the cyclone’s arrival. No loss of life has been reported in either state, though power supplies have been disrupted and trees have been uprooted. Some schools have been closed, and train and flight services were canceled.
Arnab, classified by the India Meteorological Department as a very severe cyclonic storm—the third-highest category on its scale—made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday morning, with the cyclone’s center then moving fully inland, the agency said.
Visuals on television showed fallen trees on highways as workers in rain gear worked to clear the road of branches and leaves. Winds of about 78 to 84 mph and gusts of up to 93 mph are forecast, with a storm surge of about 3 to 5 feet above normal tide likely to inundate low-lying areas of Andhra Pradesh.
Fishermen along the coast had been advised against venturing into the sea, and the weather department indicated potential loss to crops, thatched houses, and communication lines. “No one knew whose house the water would rush into next, or whose home would be submerged,” said Nagi, a resident of Kakinada district in Andhra Pradesh, one of the areas in the path of the storm.
Operations at three Andhra Pradesh airports were suspended, India’s civil aviation ministry reported. In neighboring Nepal, authorities suspended issuing trekking permits to high mountain areas for three days due to risk of rains and blizzards, Gita Ghimire, information officer in the Department of Immigration, told reporters.
This is peak trekking season in Nepal, with around 750 hikers getting permits per day. On Tuesday, Nepal warned tourists against venturing into high-altitude areas, fearing that Arnab could trigger torrential downpours, snowstorms, and avalanches in the Himalayan region from Thursday night through Saturday.
Arnab formed over the Bay of Bengal, a major region for tropical cyclones that has spawned deadly storms on India’s east coast. A super cyclone that killed nearly 10,000 people hit Odisha in October 1999, marking one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters. India has, however, developed early-warning systems and preventive measures over the years to minimize loss of life.
The full impact of Arnab remains to be seen as recovery efforts begin and further assessments are conducted in affected areas.
