Odisha readies 225 teams as Cyclone Arnab nears coast

Odisha police and disaster response teams have been deployed in vulnerable coastal districts as Cyclone Arnab approaches, with 225 rescue teams on high alert across the state. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that the system over the Bay of Bengal will intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and hit the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28. The Odisha government has cancelled the leave of all disaster personnel as part of the Cyclone Arnab preparedness drive, and the Cyclone Arnab rescue teams are now on high alert.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Central Range, Cuttack, Satyajit Nayak, told ANI on Sunday that police and disaster response teams were already in place in vulnerable coastal districts. He said all Superintendents of Police in his range had been directed to take preventive measures and coordinate with the district administration to deal with any emergency. Nayak said he had held a review meeting with the police chiefs of all seven districts in the Central Range.

How Cyclone Arnab is expected to develop

The IMD said a deep depression had intensified into Cyclone Arnab over the east central and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by midnight on October 26 and into a very severe cyclonic storm over the same region on October 27. The forecast track takes it toward the Andhra Pradesh coast, with landfall expected around October 27 or 28. Southern Odisha is expected to feel the effects even though the centre is forecast to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast, with heavy rain and gusty winds in coastal and adjoining districts.

The IMD has sounded a red alert for October 28 in five southern Odisha districts, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri, where isolated extremely heavy rainfall and winds of 50 to 60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph, are expected. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also forecast in Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Balangir, Puri, Khordha, Nayagarh, Bargarh and Nuapada on October 28, with rain continuing into October 29 before easing from October 30. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea until October 29, and a distant cautionary signal has been hoisted at all Odisha ports.

What Odisha has put in place for Cyclone Arnab

Nayak said four teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) had been deployed in each of the districts of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Khordha. Police personnel will be posted in vulnerable, low lying and flood prone areas of the coastal districts. The review covered coordination with the district administration, ODRAF, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, and other agencies including the Fire Services and Health Departments. Control rooms are working round the clock in all districts, Nayak said, and people have been urged to contact them in an emergency.

Separately, state officials said 60 ODRAF teams will be deployed on the ground in three phases, with 20 teams in each phase, alongside older trained ODRAF personnel and coordination with the NDRF from district level down to block level. Fire services officials said 225 teams have been proposed across the affected regions, with 225 vehicles, 1,510 high power chainsaws, 25 rescue tenders, 12 plasma cutters and 225 tower lights for night operations. The figures cover the wider fire and rescue deployment, while the ODRAF phased deployment is a separate part of the same preparedness plan.

Cyclone Arnab rescue teams will move to the worst hit pockets once the storm crosses the coast. Residents in low lying areas should follow district administration advisories on evacuation, shelter and movement. The next IMD bulletins will refine the landfall point and wind speeds, and the state response will shift as the storm's track becomes clearer. For now, the official message on Cyclone Arnab is one of readiness: teams are in place, control rooms are open, and leaves stand cancelled until the storm passes.