Tropical cyclone Arnab has disrupted life across several areas along India’s eastern coast, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents to safer ground.
The states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu remained on alert to mitigate the impact of what the Indian weather department described as a “very severe cyclonic storm” over the Bay of Bengal off the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Arnab made landfall on Wednesday between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, bringing maximum sustained wind speeds of 125 to 135 km per hour (km/h) and gusts of up to 150 km/h.
In an update issued at around 11 am (1.30 pm Malaysia time), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said “the latest observations indicated that the landfall process had been completed, with the storm moving inland.”
There were reports of damage to roads from heavy rain, while strong winds uprooted trees in several coastal districts.
Bad weather disrupted flights to the cities of Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. Dozens of trains were also cancelled, affecting travel to many cities.
Strong sea waves surged onto the Ennore Expressway in north Chennai, hitting vehicles and sweeping away roadside stalls on Tuesday.
Schools in some districts of the landlocked state of Jharkhand, which borders West Bengal and Odisha, were closed until Thursday.
Andhra Pradesh had prepared 2,199 cyclone shelters and mobilised 8,400 personnel to deal with potential power disruptions, as part of precautionary measures announced by state Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday.
