Kathmandu. At least 89,000 people have been evacuated to safer places after Cyclone Arnab hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Normal life has been affected in the coastal areas after the cyclone crossed the coast on Wednesday morning, bringing strong winds and heavy rains.
According to Prakhar Jain, chief of the state disaster management authority, the maximum wind speed reached 185 kmph even though the cyclone weakened slightly before making landfall. It has caused heavy to very heavy rainfall in various coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. As the cyclone moves inland, it is expected to weaken further and the wind speed is expected to drop to 110 km per hour the next day. There were no immediate reports of human casualties.TAG_OPEN_div_26
According to the India Meteorological Department, heavy rain and strong winds are likely to occur in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and parts of neighbouring Odisha for the next four hours. The head of the department, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, said that the front of the cyclone has already entered the ground and it will take about four hours to complete the entire process of crossing the coast.TAG_OPEN_div_24
} Late on Tuesday, Arnab turned into a very powerful cyclonic storm. After that, strong winds and heavy rains started in the coastal areas. According to officials of the State Disaster Management Authority, after the storm intensified in the Bay of Bengal, its outer part started affecting the coast of Andhra Pradesh from Tuesday night. The cyclone crossed the coast sooner than expected.
In view of the cyclone risk, the authorities had put all the coastal districts of the state on high alert on Tuesday. Residents of low-lying areas and flood-prone areas were evacuated to safer places. Train services were also cancelled due to heavy rains and strong winds in some areas.
According to the state’TAG_OPEN_div_18 s disaster management authority, more than 12 million people live in the prone path of the cyclone. According to the Press Trust of India news agency, authorities have set up more than 2,000 cyclone shelters in 20 districts. Emergency warning messages have been sent to the mobile phones of millions of residents who are at risk.
Jain said more than 30,000 fishing boats have been secured along the coast and about 1,100 medical teams have been deployed to provide emergency assistance.TAG_OPEN_div_16
Meanwhile, authorities in neighbouring Odisha plan to evacuate around 48,000 people to safer places in areas likely to be affected by the cyclone.TAG_OPEN_div_14
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