The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal made landfall late Wednesday night, with Odisha and Andhra Pradesh seeing high winds and a lot of rain.
The system is set to move northwestwards further inland, retaining its intensity until Thursday evening before gradually weakening by Friday night, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
After reviewing the situation, Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed district collectors and authorities to be alert due to the bad weather and make sure that residents in regions vulnerable to unexpected floods and heavy rains are informed.
The impending cyclone was given the name "Arnab" by Bangladesh, which means "ocean" in Bengali.
Where is the deep depression?
The deep depression was over the Andhra Pradesh coast and had traveled steadily west-northwestward at a speed of 3 km/h over the preceding 6 hours, according to the IMD's recent update, which was released at roughly 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
A deep depression is one level above a depression but one level below a full tropical cyclone on the IMD's tropical disturbance scale. The 3-minute sustained wind speed in a deep depression is between 28 and 33 knots (52 and 61 km/h).
1,500 residents evacuated from Gajapati
Authorities in the state of Odisha have evacuated about 1,500 residents from Gajapati as the cyclonic storm made landfall, according to Odisha Minister Suresh Pujari. The state government has instructed the district administration to be extremely watchful and make sure that no one is stuck in floodwater.
According to him, residents of low-lying areas should be relocated as soon as possible before water arrives in their individual communities. He continued by saying that all vulnerable locations have access to medications such as anti-venom medications.
According to IGP Dr. Umashankar Dash, the Odisha Fire and Emergency Services has placed 380 teams on alert with heavy machinery and multipurpose fire tenders in light of recent developments.
No cyclone due to Cyclone Arnab?
IMD officials had earlier stated this weather system will not turn into a cyclone. “However, we are expecting intense showers to still persist in the region till the end of Thursday". Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, mentioned the impact of the deep depression is also probably to be felt across northwest India by the weekend.
“Easterly winds and moisture are expected around Delhi NCR due to this deep depression. Thus, despite the withdrawal of the monsoon, we can expect some rain activity on Saturday and Sunday”, he added.
Cyclone Arnab: What do we know so far?
Heavy rain lashed southern and coastal Odisha on Wednesday due to the deep depression, forcing authorities to evacuate at least 5,000 people. Odisha has been experiencing showers since Tuesday, and the intensity of the rainfall has risen since the landfall, according to an IMD (India Meteorological Department) official.
According to him, more than 16 locations throughout the state had seen more than 10 cm of rain. The state administration has also mobilised 33 teams from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) to handle any developing emergencies due to the severe depression.
More about the Cyclone Arnab report
Educational institutions and Anganwadi centres in 10 districts have been forced to close by the Odisha government. In addition, government personnel have been advised to stay at the headquarters due to the imminent emergency and their leaves have been cancelled.
Additionally, officials have been urged to relocate pregnant women from low-lying districts to neighbouring community health centres (CHCs) or Maa Gruhas for their safety, and all hospitals in vulnerable areas have been directed to carry sufficient emergency medications.
Source: Business Standard
-Agencies
