India's eastern states are preparing for Cyclone Arnab's expected Wednesday landfall, with evacuation operations moving residents to safety as forecasters predict sustained winds reaching 125 km/h.
Prakhar Jain, managing director of Andhra Pradesh's disaster management authority, told Reuters that shelters had received nearly 50,000 people by Monday night, while the authority estimates that 400,000 need evacuation. “Evacuation is continuing,” Jain said. The authority says Arnab's projected path passes through areas where more than 12 million people live.
Rail officials said online that at least 12 eastern India trains would not run and that service across 53 southern coastal routes was suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday. Odisha officials planned to move 48,000 people to safer locations, The Hindu reported. Nepal authorities urged tourists to steer clear of Himalayan highlands from Thursday night to Saturday, warning that Arnab could bring heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects the storm to reach shore by 2 a.m. ET Wednesday (06:00 UTC), bringing sustained winds between 115 and 125 km/h and gusts as high as 140 km/h. That wind forecast is unchanged from EconoTimes' previous report on Arnab's expected landfall.
