7 Odisha districts on watch as cyclone Murasu nears Andhra coast; schools shut in some areas

The Odisha government on Monday said the administration is prepared to evacuate people from vulnerable areas to shelters if required, as seven districts remained under watch after Murasu intensified into a severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal.

The districts likely to be affected are Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Kandhamal, where the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued alerts for rainfall, revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall in adjoining Andhra Pradesh in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

The minister said people who were shifted to cyclone shelters during Cyclone Arnab have returned home, but would be moved back to the shelters if the situation warranted it. He also said 150 locations in Gajapati are also being monitored amid apprehensions of possible landslides.

Around 1,80,920 people had taken shelter in cyclone centres during Arnab, the minister said, adding that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary preparedness measures to deal with Murasu.

Meanwhile, the local administrations in Kandhamal and Rayagada have ordered the closure of all schools on November 3 and 4 as a precautionary measure. The order applies to students up to Class 12, though examinations and other scheduled academic activities will continue as planned.

In neighbouring Koraput district, the administration has sealed State Highway 48 between Borigumma and Raniguda following continuous rainfall and the risk of soil and mud sliding down nearby hills.

Commuters have been advised to avoid the affected stretch and use National Highway 326 as an alternative route until further notice. The road had witnessed landslides following heavy rainfall last month.

According to IMD, Murasu was centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal at 8.30 am on Monday, about 160 km east-southeast of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and 180 km northeast of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The system was moving west-northwestwards at a speed of 22 kmph during the preceding six hours.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced a comprehensive relief package for people affected by Cyclone Arnab, covering farmers, families whose houses were damaged, livestock owners, fishermen, women self-help groups, weavers, artisans and small businesses.

Each affected family will receive 50 kg of rice and ₹2,500 as immediate assistance, Majhi said after reviewing relief, rehabilitation and damage assessment measures at the office of the Special Relief Commissioner.

Farmers who suffered crop losses of 33% or more will be eligible for input subsidies of ₹8,500 per hectare for non-irrigated land, ₹17,000 per hectare for irrigated land and ₹22,500 per hectare for perennial crops, subject to a maximum of two hectares.

The chief minister said the state government was committed to extending assistance to all affected people.

An eight-member inter-ministerial central team, headed by a joint secretary of the Union Home Ministry, arrived in Odisha on Monday to assess the damages caused by Cyclone Arnab and subsequent floods in the worst-affected districts of Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal.