India evacuates tens of thousands as ‘very severe’ Cyclone Arnab nears

The cyclone is due to make landfall on Wednesday, with more than 12 million people living along its projected path.

High tides during a 2025 cyclone in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh, India [File: AP Photo]

India is evacuating tens of thousands of people from its eastern coast as a strengthening Cyclone Arnab bears down on its coastal states.

The cyclone has intensified since Monday and is expected to make landfall by Wednesday morning.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a warning for the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, saying the “very severe” cyclonic storm was centred only 260km (160 miles) southeast of the port city of Visakhapatnam, the most populous in Andhra Pradesh.

The department expects Arnab to turn northwest and cross the coast by 11:30am local time (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday, with sustained winds of 115-125km/h (71-78mph) and gusts of up to 140km/h (87mph).

Andhra Pradesh, India [Al Jazeera]

Arnab formed over the Bay of Bengal, which is among the world’s main breeding grounds for tropical cyclones, frequently affecting India’s eastern coastal regions.

More than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s projected path, which runs inland and north across India, according to Andhra Pradesh’s disaster management authority.

Nearly 50,000 people had been moved to shelters from vulnerable areas of the state by Monday night, out of an estimated 400,000 in need of evacuation, the authority’s managing director, Prakhar Jain, told the Reuters news agency.

“Evacuation is continuing,” Jain said.

Railway authorities in the region said on social media that at least 12 trains had been cancelled in eastern India and services on 53 routes along the southern coast had been suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Odisha, authorities have announced plans to evacuate 48,000 people out of harm’s way, according to local newspaper The Hindu.

Authorities in neighbouring Nepal have advised tourists to stay away from high-altitude areas over concerns that Arnab could trigger heavy rain, snowstorms and avalanches in the Himalayas from Thursday night to Saturday.

The advisory comes after a Himalayan flash flood in August killed about 1,500 people in the country.

预计飓风将于周三登陆，其预计路径沿线居住着超过 1200 万人。

2025 年印度安得拉邦卡基纳达地区遭遇飓风，潮水涨落。[图片：美联社照片]

随着气旋“阿尔纳布”不断增强并逼近印度沿海各邦，印度正从东部沿海地区撤离数万人。

自周一以来，飓风强度持续增强，预计将于周三上午登陆。

印度气象部门已对安得拉邦和奥里萨邦沿海地区发出警告，称这场“非常强烈的”气旋风暴中心距离安得拉邦人口最多的港口城市维沙卡帕特南东南仅 260 公里（160 英里）。

该部门预计阿纳布将于周三上午 11:30（格林尼治标准时间 06:00）转向西北方向，并于当地时间上午 11:30 登陆，持续风速为 115-125 公里/小时（71-78 英里/小时），阵风可达 140 公里/小时（87 英里/小时）。

印度安得拉邦 [半岛电视台]

阿纳布形成于孟加拉湾，孟加拉湾是世界热带气旋的主要生成地之一，经常影响印度东部沿海地区。

据安得拉邦灾害管理部门称，超过 1200 万人居住在预计的飓风路径沿线，该飓风将向内陆和北部横穿印度。

据路透社报道，截至周一晚间，该州脆弱地区的近 5 万人已被转移到避难所，而估计有 40 万人需要疏散。该机构总经理普拉卡尔·贾因 (Prakhar Jain) 表示。

“疏散工作仍在继续，”贾恩说。

该地区铁路部门在社交媒体上表示，印度东部至少有 12 列火车被取消，南部沿海 53 条线路的列车服务在周二和周三暂停。

据当地报纸《印度教徒报》报道，奥里萨邦当局已宣布计划将 48000 人从危险区域疏散。

邻国尼泊尔当局建议游客远离高海拔地区，因为担心阿尔纳布飓风可能从周四晚到周六在喜马拉雅山脉引发暴雨、暴风雪和雪崩。

此前，喜马拉雅山脉8月份发生山洪，造成该国约1500人死亡。