Cyclone Arnab: Six dead in Andhra, 300 Ganjam villages marooned; air evacuation begins

Hyderabad: At least six people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh after Cyclone Arnab barrelled through the state's coast, a state government official said on Thursday (October 29), as Odisha raced to airlift people from about 300 villages marooned in Ganjam district.

The official toll given by the Andhra Pradesh government is six, though some reports put it at nine. Officials said the deaths were caused by electrocution, falling trees and house collapses, and that the figure was still being verified as assessment teams fanned out across the affected districts.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said at least 15,000 electricity poles had been damaged and directed officials to restore supply everywhere, with power back in most districts except Konaseema and West Godavari. He asked collectors to complete damage assessment and release compensation, excluding crop losses, under a government order already issued, and to clear fallen trees and debris and guard against breaches in tanks and canals.

In Odisha, around 300 villages in Ganjam district have been marooned by three days of extremely heavy rain and flash floods. Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the state is coordinating with the Union Home Ministry, the Indian Coast Guard will provide a helicopter and 120 people are to be airlifted in the first phase, but low cloud and continuing rain could delay the flights. Sorada is among the worst-hit areas, with the Rushikulya overflowing and inundating nearby towns and villages; at Aska the river is flowing close to its danger level. Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena said most of the marooned people are in villages of Sanakhemundi and Aska blocks.

NDRF and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force teams are running rescue operations, with an additional ODRAF team rushed to Ganjam. Heavy rain has also submerged a railway bridge in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, halting trains on both sides; authorities plan to move stranded passengers by road and, failing that, house them at nearby stations.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Chief Ministers of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Chhattisgarh and assured all possible assistance. NDRF and SDRF teams are working on a war footing and inter-ministerial teams will be sent to assess the damage, he said.

Arnab made landfall on the Andhra coast on Wednesday (October 28) as a very severe cyclonic storm, the third-highest category on the IMD scale, with wind speeds of 125-135 kmph. It weakened into a deep depression and then a depression, lying 20 km west of Jagdalpur in south Chhattisgarh at 5:30 am on Thursday and moving nearly northwards at 22 kmph. Rain was forecast to continue over parts of Jharkhand until Friday, and a fresh low-pressure area over the south Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a depression.

Naidu said Rayalaseema is facing an El Nino-driven dry spell even as coastal districts count cyclone damage, with sowing conditions poor in the dry region and standing crops and coconut plantations hit in north Andhra and the Godavari belt. He asked agriculture officials and scientists to assess how much waterlogged crop can be saved. (With inputs from PTI and media reports).