India to evacuate thousands as Cyclone Arnab nears eastern coast

Two states along India’s eastern coast were preparing to evacuate thousands of people ahead of Cyclone Arnab, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, as one of them said it would close schools in some districts for two days.

Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal before intensifying into a cyclonic storm, is expected to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh state by Wednesday morning, with gustsof as much as 140 kph (87 mph), India’s weather office said.

The cyclone will probably intensify further, it added.

The weather system is expected to bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to Andhra Pradesh’s northern and central coastal districts, and southern regions of neighbouring Odisha.

Andhra Pradesh has called for boats at sea to return ashore and ordered speedy restoration of power in case of disruptions.

A senior Andhra Pradesh disaster management official told Reuters on Monday the state government had identified 570,000 people as vulnerable and evacuations would start on Monday evening.

Odisha’s government announced the closure of schools and colleges in five districts for Tuesday and Wednesday, and said it was preparing to move residents of low-lying areas to cyclone shelters.

The Bay of Bengal is one of the world’s major regions for tropical cyclones.