Cyclone Arnab: 61 trains off, schools shut in four districts and Rs 27 crore released as the storm turns very severe

Andhra Pradesh shut down one system after another on Monday night as Cyclone Arnab closed in. Trains were pulled off the coastal lines, four districts closed their schools, and Rs 27 crore was placed in the hands of twenty district collectors. The India Meteorological Department expects the storm to strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm on 27 October and cross the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, near Yanam, on the forenoon of 28 October.

The 2:30 pm bulletin on Monday placed the cyclone over the west-central Bay of Bengal, moving west-northwest at 13 kmph. It was 540 km from Visakhapatnam, 620 km from Kakinada, 720 km from Machilipatnam and 790 km from Bapatla. At landfall the weather office expects sustained winds of 115 to 125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, with heavy to extremely heavy rain over coastal Andhra on 27 and 28 October.

Sixty-one trains, two days

South Coast Railway said 61 trains had been cancelled, short-terminated or short-originated in the interest of passenger safety. Fifty-three of them run on routes inside the state and were due to leave on 27 or 28 October: the Rajahmundry to Vijayawada, Machilipatnam to Vijayawada, Machilipatnam to Gudivada, Vijayawada to Bhimavaram, Bhimavaram to Nidadavolu, Vijayawada to Narsapur, Narsapur to Rajahmundry and Kakinada Port to Rajahmundry services among them. The Visakhapatnam to Koraput passenger stays off from 27 to 30 October, and the Visakhapatnam to Kirandul Night Express from 29 October to 4 November. Round-the-clock war rooms are open at the zonal and divisional headquarters, and passengers have been asked to check a train’s status before setting out.

Schools and money

Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema districts have declared a holiday for educational institutions on 27 and 28 October; Anakapalli has closed them for three days, until 29 October. Collectors in the other coastal districts will decide as conditions change.

The Revenue (Disaster Management) department released Rs 27 crore on Monday under GO Rt No 116 for emergency rescue, evacuation and relief. Seven districts on the storm’s path, Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema, East Godavari, Kakinada and Anakapalli, get Rs 2 crore each. Thirteen others, from Prakasam, Markapuram and Guntur through NTR, Eluru, Alluri Sitharama Raju and Polavaram to Parvathipuram Manyam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Nellore and Tirupati, get Rs 1 crore each, which collectors may draw at once under Treasury Rule 27. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed that evacuation begin with the flood-prone villages, that APSRTC buses be kept ready, and that government schools and colleges be turned into shelters wherever they are needed.