Deep Depression 'Arnab' Crosses Andhra-Odisha Coast, Triggering Evacuations and Red Alerts

Floodwater came into the Rekan Residency apartments in Kommadi, in Visakhapatnam's Madhurawada area, after heavy rain overnight. Residents were stranded inside until police, fire services and NDRF teams arrived and brought everyone out safely. It was one of the first visible signs of what the India Meteorological Department was calling a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, named Arnab, the Bengali word for ocean, a name contributed by Bangladesh.

The system crossed the north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coast near Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district between 11 pm on Wednesday and 1 am on Thursday, the IMD said. It was moving west-northwestwards with winds of up to 75 kmph. By 8:30 am Thursday it was centred about 70 km west-northwest of Kalingapatnam and 80 km south-southeast of Rayagada. Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed district collectors and officials to stay alert and to warn people in areas prone to sudden floods. Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar told power utilities to remain on round-the-clock high alert.

The weight of the system then shifted to Odisha. Six districts, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Ganjam, were placed in the red zone, and the IMD issued a red alert for parts of the south, warning of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places. Odisha Minister Suresh Pujari said more than 1,500 people had been moved out of Gajapati early on, and that officials were told to shift people before water reached their villages. Anti-venom medicines were stocked in vulnerable areas. By Thursday afternoon Pujari reported that 8,082 of 8,205 affected people had been evacuated. The depression entered through Rayagada and Koraput and affected 37 blocks across six districts, and evacuation continued in waterlogged areas. Two senior ministers were sent to oversee preparations.

Schools in Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam and Gajapati were closed on Thursday, along with anganwadi centres. Shelters were readied, movement on vulnerable routes was restricted, and ferry services between Satapada and Jahnikuda in Chilika Lake were suspended until Friday. On the lake, strong winds and high waves sank more than 10 fishing boats belonging to fishermen from the Mangala Sahi and Lakshminarayan Sahi areas of Arakhakuda in Krushnaprasad block, according to ANI. Waterlogging temporarily closed National Highway 326.

In Puri, the authorities declared a red zone for two days. Ananta Prasad Biswal of the Fire Services said 98 lifeguards had been deployed, red flags raised, and warnings broadcast by loudspeaker, and that the administration had banned bathing in the sea. He described the situation as dangerous and likely to worsen the next day, and urged tourists to stay out of the water.

IMD Bhubaneswar Director Dr Manorama Mohanty said the system was moving north-northwestwards and would gradually weaken, with winds of 50 to 70 kmph in southern districts such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal. The IMD expects it to weaken into a depression around 5:30 pm Thursday and to keep weakening over the following 24 hours, though heavy rain is expected across Odisha for the next 48 hours.

The effects reached further. Kolkata recorded 80 mm of rain, and Kansabati Dam received 100 mm in 24 hours. The IMD forecasts more heavy rain in West Bengal through Saturday, with landslide risk in hilly areas and waterlogging in low-lying ones. In Jharkhand, the Ranchi administration warned tourists away from waterfalls including Jonha, Hundru, Dasam, Sita and Remix Falls. Even as the system weakens, the rain it carries is still moving north, and warnings remain in force.