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The winds and heavy rains from Cyclone Arnab caused widespread
damage to houses, roads and electricity infrastructure, with 14
coastal districts badly affected, said the state’s chief
minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu. He requested urgent assistance
from the central government.
Arnab made landfall early Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic
storm with wind speeds reaching 135 kph (84 mph) before
weakening as it moved inland, authorities said.
Two women were electrocuted in separate incidents in the port
city of Visakhapatnam, while another person was killed when a
tree fell in East Godavari district, officials said.
The cyclone damaged 79,000 acres of crops and dozens of homes.
In the fertile Konaseema district, banana and coconut
plantations had extensive damage and trees and power poles were
uprooted, disrupting electricity across the district, officials
said.
The India Meteorological Department said heavy rainfall as well
as strong winds would linger in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh
and parts of southern Odisha state as the storm dissipated. The
rainfall flooded several low-lying areas in Visakhapatnam.
At least 180,000 people were evacuated from low-lying and
flood-prone areas in Andhra Pradesh before the cyclone.
Authorities also canceled some train services, fishing boats
were secured and medical teams were deployed to affected areas.
The state’s disaster management authority said more than 12
million people live along the cyclone’s expected path.
In neighboring Odisha state, officials planned to evacuate about
48,000 people from areas likely to be affected by the storm.
In Nepal to the north, the disaster agency warned of heavy rain,
lightning and thunderstorms across much of the country. It
advised tourists to avoid high-altitude and Himalayan areas and
warned of possible road and air travel disruptions.
Nepal continues to recover from devastating flash floods in
August that killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands
more missing. More flooding was reported earlier this month in
northern Nepal. ___
Farooq reported from Hyderabad, India. AP journalist Binaj
Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal, contributed to this report.
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