VIJAYAWADA/ VISAKHAPATNAM: Seven people lost their lives across the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in rain-related incidents triggered by the landfall of Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab in the early hours of Wednesday.
The devastating storm unleashed intense gale-force winds and torrential downpours across 14 districts, ravaging an estimated 2.2 lakh hectares of agricultural and horticultural crops.
Normal life and economic activity were severely disrupted on Wednesday across the coastal districts of Kakinada, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Anakapalle, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, alongside the tribal belts of Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitarama Raju.
High-velocity winds uprooted thousands of trees, snapped power lines, downed telecom towers, and submerged low-lying habitations, triggering massive multi-agency rescue and relief operations on a war footing.
Cyclone Arnab completed its six-hour landfall process near Narsapur between 2 and 8 am on Wednesday, packing wind speeds of 115 to 135 kmph with peak gusts reaching 150 kmph. The system made landfall near latitude 16.45°N and longitude 81.9°E—approximately 20 km east-northeast of Narsapur, 40 km southwest of Yanam, and 60 km southwest of Kakinada.
Although the storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm after moving inland, the India Meteorological Department warned that severe weather risks persist, issuing heavy to extremely heavy rainfall alerts for north coastal districts, including Srikakulam, Parvathipuram and Vizianagaram over next 48 hours.
The deaths included three electrocution fatalities in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalle districts. 65-year-old Devudu, who came into contact with a snapped live wire; 49-year-old Madhavi, who was struck by a falling electric pole at Balaji Nagar; and a 55-year-old woman in Yellamanchili who stepped on an active power line outside her house.
In Bhimavaram, 45-year-old Chokka Kishore was killed when a tree fell on him at Churchipeta, and Rambabu died after an electric pole crashed on him at Bondada Street.
West Godavari dist bears brunt of Cyclone Arnab
In East Godavari, 35-year-old Karam Satyavathi was swept away by floodwaters while travelling on a two-wheeler with her husband in Seethanagaram mandal.
In Konaseema district, a 50-year-old woman died when an electric pole fell on her at Sakhinetipalli. However, the government has only confirmed five cyclone-related deaths so far.
West Godavari district bore the full brunt of the storm as it moved inland from Narsapur. Collector C Nagarani confirmed that roughly 4,000 trees were uprooted across the district completely blocking vital arterial routes, including the Palakollu-Narasapuram and Bhimavaram-Narasapuram roads.
In neighbouring Eluru district, floodwaters submerged low-lying areas in Polavaram mandal, inundated the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation access routes, and blocked the Itukalakota Agency Road. In Kakinada, District Collector Harendhira Prasad and SP Bindu Madhav oversaw high-tide evacuations as massive waves destroyed a newly constructed coastal stone wall, throwing heavy boulders into nearby habitations and eroding the shoreline across Uppada, Suradapeta, Ameenabad and Jaggarajupeta.
In the adjoining Union Territory of Yanam, gale-force winds uprooted coconut trees, snapped high-tension cables, damaged market stalls near the ferry point, and destroyed standing paddy crop, though precautionary power shutdowns prevented casualties. To manage the disaster, the State government deployed 16 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams, alongside over 32,000 multi-departmental personnel to take emergency services.