Authorities have evacuated at least 89,000 people from vulnerable coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh as Cyclone Arnab intensified over the Bay of Bengal and was expected to make landfall early Wednesday, AP reported.
The India Meteorological Department classified Arnab as a “” cyclonic storm, warning of heavy rainfall and strong winds along the east coast. The storm’s outer bands began affecting parts of Andhra Pradesh late Tuesday, with officials saying the expected landfall had moved earlier than initially forecast.
Prakhar Jain, a senior official with Andhra Pradesh’s disaster management authority, said the could reach the coast between 2 am and 4 am local time on Wednesday. He warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in several districts and called for heightened vigilance during the critical hours before landfall.
Authorities placed all coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh on high alert and began moving people from low-lying and flood-prone areas to safer locations. Some train services were also cancelled as heavy rain and gusty winds began affecting parts of the coast, AP reported.
The cyclone was moving at around 20 kmph, Jain said. Officials warned that wind speeds could reach 140 kmph at , accompanied by extremely heavy rain and strong gusts across parts of the coastal region on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The state’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s expected path.
Authorities have established more than 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts and are sending emergency alerts to millions of residents’ mobile phones. More than 30,000 fishing boats have been secured along the coast, while nearly 1,100 medical teams have been deployed to provide emergency assistance, Jain said, according to the PTI.
In neighbouring Odisha, officials planned to evacuate around 48,000 people from areas likely to be affected by the cyclone.
