India preparing to evacuate thousands as Cyclone Arnab approaches Andhra Pradesh and Odisha

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Two states along India's eastern coast were preparing to evacuate thousands of people ahead of Cyclone Arnab, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday. One of the states said it would also close schools in some districts for two days. Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal before intensifying into a ⁠cyclonic storm , is expected ​to ⁠make landfall in Andhra Pradesh state by Wednesday morning, with gusts of as much ⁠as 140kmph (87mph), India's weather office ​said. The cyclone will probably intensify further, it added. The weather system is expected to bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to ‌Andhra Pradesh's northern and central ‌coastal districts, and southern regions of neighbouring Odisha. Andhra Pradesh has called for boats at sea to return ashore and ordered speedy restoration of power in case of disruptions. A senior Andhra Pradesh disaster management official told Reuters on Monday the state government had identified 570,000 people as vulnerable and evacuations would start on Monday evening. Odisha's government announced the closure of schools and colleges in five districts for Tuesday and Wednesday, and said it was preparing to move residents of low-lying areas to cyclone shelters. The Bay of Bengal is one of the world's ‌major regions ​for tropical cyclones.