Authorities are evacuating tens of thousands of people from India’s eastern coast as the strengthening Cyclone Arnab approaches Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Landfall is expected Wednesday morning, according to Al Jazeera, which relayed figures from several sources.
The India Meteorological Department issued a warning for both states, saying the "very severe" cyclonic storm was centred 260km southeast of Visakhapatnam. The department expects Arnab to turn northwest and cross the coast by 11:30am local time on Wednesday, with sustained winds of 115-125km/h and gusts up to 140km/h, according to Al Jazeera.
Andhra Pradesh’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s projected path. Nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters by Monday night, out of an estimated 400,000 in need of evacuation, according to the authority’s managing director, Prakhar Jain, as reported by Reuters.
Odisha authorities announced plans to evacuate 48,000 people, according to the local newspaper The Hindu.
Rail services are also being disrupted. At least 12 trains were cancelled in eastern India, and services on 53 routes along the southern coast were suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to railway authorities posting on social media.
The Bay of Bengal, where Arnab formed, is one of the world’s main breeding grounds for tropical cyclones, and these storms frequently affect India’s eastern coastal regions. Separately, Nepal’s authorities advised tourists to avoid high-altitude areas because Arnab could bring heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches in the Himalayas from Thursday night to Saturday. The advisory follows a Himalayan flash flood in August that killed about 1,500 people in Nepal.
The main facts in this report rely on a single outlet, Al Jazeera, which relays figures from Reuters and The Hindu. No primary reports were checked. The outline includes no statement from India’s central government or from Odisha authorities, no evacuation or shelter totals after Monday night, and no response from railway authorities beyond their social media posts. The 400,000 evacuation estimate is not confirmed beyond the Andhra Pradesh authority’s figure, and the source of the Nepal advisory is given only as "authorities."
Arnab is expected to cross the coast around 11:30am local time on Wednesday. Nepal has warned of Himalayan snow and avalanche risk from Thursday night to Saturday.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.