Andhra Pradesh: Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab has completed its landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast. The India Meteorological Department said the storm crossed the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, near Narsapur and southwest of Yanam, in earlier this morning. At the time of landfall, the cyclone brought maximum sustained winds of 125 to 135 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching 150 kilometres per hour. The landfall process was completed by 8 AM, with the storm’s central region moving entirely over land. The system is likely to move north-northwestwards and gradually weaken into a cyclonic storm within the next three hours and further into a deep depression during the following six hours.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking early deployment of central teams to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Arnab in the state. In his letter, the Chief Minister said the cyclone had damaged crops, houses, roads and electricity infrastructure. He said 16 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams had been deployed across 14 districts, while more than 28 thousand people had been shifted to rehabilitation centres. No loss of life has been reported so far. The state government has issued emergency helpline numbers 1070 and 112. Mr Naidu also sought continued support from central agencies for relief and rehabilitation. The authorities have evacuated over 1 lakh 80 thousand people into safer zones and relief shelters across the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. More than 100 train services have been cancelled or rescheduled.
Severe Cyclonic storm likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm during the next three hours; IMD predicts it is likely to move north-northwestwards in the next 48 hours.
[AIR news]