Cyclone Arnab weakens, but Andhra, Odisha still under rain alert

Cyclone Arnab weakened into a deep depression over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana late on Wednesday after leaving at least five people dead and damaging crops and public infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh's coastal districts.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system was expected to weaken further into a depression by Thursday morning and turn into a well-marked low-pressure area by evening.

In Odisha, heavy rain triggered landslides while roads were flooded and trees uprooted. However, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Manjhi said the state had achieved its “zero casualty” objective despite the damage, PTI news agency reported.

Also Read | UP braces for heavy rain, thunderstorms as Cyclone Arnab approaches

As Andhra Pradesh and Odisha assessed the damage caused by the storm, several districts in both states remained under yellow and orange weather alerts on Thursday.

Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra districts under rain alerts

The IMD in its latest update on the cyclone said the storm had “moved nearly northwards with the speed of 15 kmph” late on Wednesday and weakened into a deep depression. As of 11.30 pm on Wednesday, it lay centered “over the north coastal An​dhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of South Odisha, south Chhattisgarh and northeast Telangana near latitude 17.8°N and longitude 81.8°E, about 60 km South of Malkangiri (Odisha), 90 km west-southwest of Paderu (Andhra Pradesh), 140 km south of Jag​dalpur (Chhattisgarh), and 190 km east-northeast of Khammam (Telengana)”, the weather department said in a post on X.

The IMD added that the storm continued to move “nearly northwards” and was likely to weaken into a depression. Meanwhile, nine districts in Odisha remained under orange alert on Thursday. These include Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Subarnapur, Bauda, Kandhamal, Gajapati and Ganjam. An orange alert is a “be prepared” warning, indicating moderate to heavy rainfall. The rest of the state was under yellow alert, which indicates light to moderate rainfall.

In Chhattisgarh, Gariaband, Dhamtari, Kanker, Narayanpur and Kondagaon were under orange alert, while a yellow alert was issued for the rest of the state. All Andhra Pradesh districts also remained under yellow alert.

Also Read | Heavy rain warning in Chhattisgarh post Cyclone Arnab, schools shut in Raipur

Cyclone Arnab aftermath

The cyclone made landfall in Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, thus making the state the worst-hit. Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu said three persons had died in Visakhapatnam district due to the fall of electric poles and trees amid rain, and one each had lost their lives in Anakapalli and Bhimavaram.

Naidu expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and announced ex gratia of ₹5 lakh to each of the families of the deceased. He wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah about considerable damage to crops and infrastructure and urged the early deputation of a central team to assess the damage, HT reported earlier.

Meanwhile, around 15,000 electricity poles were uprooted across the state, Naidu said citing preliminary estimates. “The cyclone has also affected an estimated 3.45 lakh farmers, with standing crops inundated or damaged across 2,24,489 hectares in 14 districts,” he said.