Cyclone Arnab: Andhra counts its losses as floods and landslides hit southern Odisha

Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday, October 28, as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with winds of up to 135 km/h, before weakening as it moved inland. Two days later, its effects are still spreading north.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh was the worst-hit state. Kakinada and Visakhapatnam were among the areas battered by wind and rain, and some places recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has put the death toll in the state at seven and preliminary losses at about Rs 4,600 crore, according to reports on Friday. On the day of landfall, the National Disaster Response Force had confirmed three deaths.

Naidu told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that at least 180 houses had been destroyed. At least 64 trains were cancelled and flights to Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam were disrupted.

Odisha

In southern Odisha, more than 55,000 people have been evacuated across nine districts. The Jalaka and Rushikulya rivers have breached their danger marks. Floodwater from the Bahuda river is flowing over National Highway 16 near Ichchapuram on the Odisha-Andhra border, halting traffic, and a large landslide has hit Taptapani Ghat on the Gajapati-Ganjam border. The Brahmapur Municipal Corporation is serving cooked food at 12 cyclone shelters, and Sundargarh district has closed all schools up to Class XII for the day.

The remnants of the storm also brought overnight rain to Delhi-NCR, lowering temperatures and improving air quality to the "moderate" category.

What comes next

The India Meteorological Department expects a fresh depression to form by October 31, with more rain likely from November 1. The NDRF deployed 31 teams across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Yanam ahead of landfall.

Casualty and damage figures are preliminary.