Cyclone Arnab weakened into a deep depression over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana late on Wednesday, after killing at least five people and causing extensive damage to crops and public infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh’s coastal districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the weather system was expected to weaken further into a depression by Thursday morning before becoming a well-marked low-pressure area by the evening.
Despite the weakening storm, several districts in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha remained under yellow and orange weather alerts on Thursday, while parts of Chhattisgarh also faced warnings of heavy rainfall.
Odisha reported landslides, flooded roads and uprooted trees following heavy rain. Chief minister Mohan Charan Manjhi, however, said the state had achieved its “zero casualty” objective despite the damage, according to PTI.
Andhra Pradesh bears the brunt of the storm
The cyclone made landfall in Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving the state the worst affected. Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said three people died in Visakhapatnam district after electric poles and trees fell amid heavy rain. One person each died in Anakapalli and Bhimavaram.
Naidu expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and announced ex gratia payments of ₹5 lakh for each bereaved family.
He also wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, highlighting considerable damage to crops and infrastructure and urging the Centre to send a team at the earliest to assess the losses.
Preliminary estimates indicated that around 15,000 electricity poles had been uprooted across Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said. The storm had also affected an estimated 3.45 lakh farmers, with standing crops inundated or damaged across 2,24,489 hectares in 14 districts.
IMD tracks weakening system as alerts continue
In its latest update, the IMD said the system had moved nearly northwards at a speed of 15 kmph late on Wednesday before weakening into a deep depression.
At 11.30 pm on Wednesday, the system was centred over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of southern Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and northeastern Telangana. It was located near latitude 17.8°N and longitude 81.8°E, approximately 60 km south of Malkangiri in Odisha, 90 km west-southwest of Paderu in Andhra Pradesh, 140 km south of Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and 190 km east-northeast of Khammam in Telangana.
The weather department said the system would continue moving nearly northwards and was likely to weaken further into a depression.
Nine Odisha districts remained under an orange alert on Thursday: Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Subarnapur, Bauda, Kandhamal, Gajapati and Ganjam. The remaining districts were under a yellow alert. An orange alert advises people to be prepared for moderate to heavy rainfall, while a yellow alert indicates the possibility of light to moderate rain.
In Chhattisgarh, orange alerts were issued for Gariaband, Dhamtari, Kanker, Narayanpur and Kondagaon, while the rest of the state remained under a yellow alert. All districts of Andhra Pradesh were also under yellow alerts on Thursday.
Odisha reports damage but says zero-casualty target achieved
Heavy rainfall associated with the storm triggered landslides in Odisha, flooded roads and uprooted trees, adding to the disruption caused by the weather system.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Manjhi said Odisha had nevertheless met its “zero casualty” objective. The state continued to assess the damage even as rainfall alerts remained in force across its districts.